♥️♣️♥️♣️

Simple tips of being more mindful

Go to sleep earlier (Listen to ambient music to fall asleep faster(or things like the Calm app)

Wake up earlier (Put your alarm far away from the bed so you have to get up and turn it off)

Don’t go on your phone first thing in the morning

Tell yourself that it’s going to be a good day

Stretch for 5 minutes

Make your bed

Drink a glass of water (Personally, I like to keep a litre of water in my room so i can have it as soon as I wake up)

Lay clothes out on the bed(Or, go one step further and set the clothes out at night)

Go shower or brush your teeth and wash your face if you shower at night

Put lotion on, put clothes on and apply makeup/do your hair as per normal

Watch a 5-10 minute motivational video (Youtube has Inspirational channels, Ted Talks etc)

Eat breakfast(Smaller bites, appreciate the taste), and drink more water and plan your day

Make your lunch

Now, if you have extra time you can look at your phone and scroll through social media a bi before you leave the house

Look for beauty around you, in the smiles of people, their fashion, flowers, architecture, interior decorating. Try to take in as much as you can.

Look up from your phone(Delete the apps you don’t need. Be honest about what apps waste your time)

Make it a goal to make someone’s day better, whether it’s by buying a homeless person a meal, or by smiling genuinely at someone. Brighten someone’s day.

If you have extra time, write a journal entry for the day. Write about what you noticed in the world, your goals, your feelings, what excites you etc. Write about your thoughts, let them flow through you.

Carry a book around with you and read it when you find yourself doing nothing.

Notice how much time you spend on your phone or laptop. Try to replace some time that you spend on silly things with educational things. (Read the news rather than scrolling through memes for an hour, read a motivational book rather than toxic tweets)

Learn.Learn.Learn. If you haven’t heard of something, ask what it is. Ask people to teach you how they do whatever it is they do. Don’t settle for no answer. Dig deeper. Learn.

When you learn something, try to see if you can explain it to someone else. If you can’t, try to learn a little more.

Be nicer to people. Ask them how they are, listen to their stories, learn who they are. You’d be surprised at all the interesting, educational stories that people all around you have.

Go outside every day. Enjoy nature.

Appreciate who you are and where your life is at. Appreciate that not everything happens perfectly or as planned.

Appreciate that you can learn anything if you put your mind to it,

Spread positive feelings.

Cut off anyone who threatens your positive vibes.

School and tumblr

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

.

Damn that’s accurate

me: *is one day into summer break*

me: k so when can i go get my school supplies for next year

I cried. I really needed that. Thanks

hey if ur ever feelin shitty use this

31 Days of World Building: Wordsnstuff August Writing Challenge

– The monthly challenges are back by popular demand! I hope you all enjoy this one. This is the second installment of my three part series, dedicated to writing longer stories. Next month’s challenge will be dedicated to plot development. I look forward to seeing all of your guys’ responses here using the hashtag #wordsnstuffworldbuilding and over on Instagram, where you can tag me @ writingandsuch.

This challenge begins on August 1st, but I thought I would give you guys some time to plan stuff out, because you may need to switch some days around to accommodate your schedule. You’re free to do one day’s challenge on another day if your schedule doesn’t allow enough time to complete that day’s challenge. Best of luck to you!

☼ Prompt List ☼

Days 1-10: History & Geography

How does climate and weather change in the part(s) of the world your story occurs in?

Describe the landscape/layout of the major location(s) in your story. (Major buildings, natural formations, prominent mountains, where characters’ homes are situated, etc.

How have the species/groups/races in your story formed the relationships they have throughout history?

What major wars/conflicts/disasters have taken place in the timeline of history in your story? How do they affect your world and the beings in present times?

What recent history affects your story the most? What were the events’ initial effects and how do they compare and contrast to the long lasting damages/benefits?

Create two timelines; One that covers major events that have occurred since the beginning of your world as your character knows it, then one that covers recent events and time periods (about 500 years should do it).

To what extent does religion exist in your world and how has it evolved over time?

What does nature look like in your world? What plant species exist in your world? Which ones are rare and valuable and which ones are weeds? How do the beings in your world interact with nature?

What animals are present in your world? What areas of the world do specific species inhabit? Does poaching occur? If so, to what extent is it a major issue? What species are commonly domesticated, if any?

How have different species/beings/races been oppressed throughout the history of your world? How does this affect current relationships amongst different groups? Which conflicts have been solved/forgiven and which ones haven’t?

Days 11-20: Society & Culture

What races/species/groups coexist in your world? Describe them and their individual characteristics.

How many languages exist in your world? How do the resemble languages in the real world, if at all?

What major powers play large roles in your world? (i.e. churches, governments, monarchs, caste systems, corporations, etc.)

What does religion look like in your world? Do individuals of faith occupy the majority or the minority?

What are the major and minor opinions held by individuals in your world, concerning politics, morality, society, other groups, etc.

How do the names of beings/groups/individuals translate? How did they originate and how do names differ throughout the world? Are they more sacred and valued in some places than others?

What role does education play in your world? To what extent is it valued or required in society? How are uneducated individuals viewed/discriminated against, if at all?

What is fashion like in your world, if it exists? What do beings wear in your world, if anything? Is clothing an indicator of wealth or class?

To what extent is hygiene a priority to beings of your world? How do beings in different areas keep themselves clean and healthy?

What is the average life span of different species in your world? What aspects of science/evolution/design affect this? How are beings on opposite age extremes treated in society? How are the young and the old treated and how does their treatment differ from those who are not of those ages?

Days 21-30: Systems & Politics

How does your world function economically in your story? What is the currency system and what items/services are of most value in your world?

What political aspects of your story/world mirror real life and how might you convey these similarities through symbolism and abstract depictions of real life events?

How much of a role does politics play in your story/conflict and how does the political climate of your world affect your main character(s), specifically?

What major resources are plentiful and scarce in your world and how does this affect your character(s) as they try to solve the conflict?

What are the specific limits in various areas of science and magic within your world? If you don’t have a magic system, describe the realm of possibility when it comes to scientific capabilities, i.e, maybe in your world, time travel is possible but teleportation has not yet been invented.

What is ethical and non-ethical in your world and how much of a role does ethics play in law-enforcement/society in general?

Are the beings in your world concerned with issues like freedom of speech, equality, opportunity, fairness, and minorities? Do those issues even exist in your setting?

Who are the major world leaders and how do they govern the areas they have control over?

What technology/magic dominates your world? Is it exclusively used by a certain group/species/class? What are its limitations?

If magic does exist in your world, where did it originate? How was it originally meant to function/be used and how is it used in the present? How is magic viewed by different groups/species/classes?

Bonus Day 31 Challenge: The Things You May Forget

What food is common in your world?

How developed is medicine in your world? Is it anything like what we have on Earth?

How easy is it to get from one place to another?

**If anyone has any other aspects not mentioned in the list above that they feel is important to world-building, please leave those in the comments below for other writers to peruse!

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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!

how to write like jk rowling

foreshadow foreshadow foreshadow

become a master of chekhov’s gun everything you mention should pay off a hundred pages later or a couple of books later! the diary they had to go back and get? it has voldemort in it! the locket they were polishing? it’s a horcrux! old irrelevant lady? actually a squib watching over you!

write buried clues! like the fact that ginny has a diary is buried under a list of things the weasleys forget and go bring back on the way the king’s cross or the fact that there’s a locket is listed among a ton of things they’re cleaning!

you can also downplay the importance of characters before the big reveal like how harry asks sirius about his brother and he brushes him off as a stupid young boy who joined the death eaters

speaking of characters, jkr says character is plot and that explains how she writes such strong characters take my favourite one for instance sirius black he’s the textbook case of ‘break your characters’ he’s in an abusive household for eleven years, then thrown into a war, and loses his best friend in the whole world, is wrongly imprisoned for twelve years and then jailed in the house of his childhood while everyone is working and YET he is unfailingly kind and doesn’t stray into the dark

and write flawed characters like the kindest, gentlest, wisest character dumbledore. he was not to be trusted with power. 

also speaking of characters, write killer motivations that aren’t always foregrounded classic example is snape’s motivation to lie to voldemort for years. is it right and good? debatable. is it powerful? yes.

next up, worldbuilding. jkr makes us forever in awe of her world and till date we’re all bemoaning the fact that we can’t go to hogwarts and YET there’s a dark side to that world it’s a distorted mirror of our own

write visual spectacles that make your readers go whoa. my favourite moment was the dragon breaking out of gringotts. it was emblematic of injustices in the wizarding world but boy did it make a good shot.

use extended metaphors

give! every! minor! character! their! own! subplot! even! if! it! doesn’t! make! it! into! your! story! standard example: dobby!

make us nostalgic. like hagrid taking harry out of privet drive in the last book just like in the first

in that vein, ring composition!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

be preoccupied with morality and mortality

take away everything your hero has. his parents. his father figure. his wand.

be unkind to your hero but let him win

give children everywhere something to hope for

finally, jkr said by writing harry potter, she came to know for sure that love is the most powerful force use writing to explore your convictions 

if you’re going to tell me what a terrible person jkr is, make your own post this is a writing blog and i worked really hard on scrutinising aspects of her writing which is objectively wonderful

how to write like jk rowing * how to write like shirley jackson

If you found this helpful, consider buying me a virtual coffee to keep me writing.

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