Would You Pat The Cat

VII OF SWORDS

Let's type a skull ⌨️💀

what advice would you give to a 19 year old?

just bc you find someone hot or funny doesn’t mean you should immediately date them, just because someone gives you attention doesn’t mean they’re the right person for you, being 19 is not “old” and you should embrace it rather than dread it, work out now so your future self can thank u later, use your planner, network w your professors because you’ll never know when you’ll need their connections in the future, stop fucking comparing, everyone’s secretly struggling, no one is worth putting on a pedestal, decentralize dating in general tbh, having a crush is fine but don’t obsess, interrogate yourself on what you truly want, explore new things (stop sticking so religiously to your comfort zone), nothing on your phone is that deep, have a plan for the future (it’s okay if it changes), put effort into friendships but don’t chase people, put yourself out there because it really does amount to something, decentralize luxury brands bc that shit is overrated as fuck, journal more, experiment w fashion and perfume and your general style, having social media is ok but spend less time on your phone in general, not everyone will like you and that is okay, you won’t like everyone and that is okay, don’t take people’s reactions so personally, don’t take yourself so seriously, invest in therapy

Workout For Daily Life

may i ask how do you come up with your characters designs and outfits??? i have such trouble thinking up functional costumes for my characters and i admire yours so much omg

ofc ofc!! I’ll try to keep this short n simple so there are pretty much just three steps in costume creation, compiling reference, sketching, and creating the final piece!!

Compiling reference is pretty self-explanatory! I recommend having a folder in your computer to save costume design to, or pinterest bcos pinterest is a fucking gem. Just. Hoard all the armor/clothing you can get your hands on. even if the only part of a design you like is the shape of some coat buttons. stash that shit away man. Here are some references I used while designing armor for Rato!!

The next step (and also the lengthiest step, at least for me) is sketching!! This can be………intimidating to get into, but it’s not that bad once you dive in!! Just think of it as tossing all your reference pictures into a giant melting pot and then throwin a bunch a your own personal flavor in there too for good measure. 

I super duper recommend sketching outfits in a paper doll sort of way, with shapes instead of lines, and in greyscale! Good outfit design depends 90% on shapes imo, and blocking out clothing forms makes the entire process much much faster and easier to think about. The greyscale is so you don’t have to distract yourself by thinking about colors just yet B^) for example: 

when Im designing outfits I like to lay out a bunch of sketches of the character naked/in underwear/w/e and then just go down the line blocking different chunks of the armor out. Each different shade of grey is a different layer so I can easily add stuff on top of or underneath other clothing pieces. It really helps to have a bunch of sketches on one page so you can recycle pieces of different mock-ups you’ve done!! Im sure you can see that a lot of the Rato sketches up there have the same boots/coats/chestpieces :~) its honestly just throwing shit at a wall and seein what sticks

and then you just gotta finalize it!! think of colors and materials and all that good stuff. Im not sure what else to write without making this obnoxiously long, so hmu if you have any other questions!!

Tips for Writing a Difficult Scene

Every writer inevitably gets to that scene that just doesn't want to work. It doesn't flow, no matter how hard you try. Well, here are some things to try to get out of that rut:

1. Change the weather

I know this doesn't sound like it'll make much of a difference, but trust me when I say it does.

Every single time I've tried this, it worked and the scene flowed magically.

2. Change the POV

If your book has multiple POV characters, it might be a good idea to switch the scene to another character's perspective.

9/10 times, this will make the scene flow better.

3. Start the scene earlier/later

Oftentimes, a scene just doesn't work because you're not starting in the right place.

Perhaps you're starting too late and giving too little context. Perhaps some description or character introspection is needed before you dive in.

Alternatively, you may be taking too long to get to the actual point of the scene. Would it help to dive straight into the action without much ado?

4. Write only the dialogue

If your scene involves dialogue, it can help immensely to write only the spoken words the first time round.

It's even better if you highlight different characters' speech in different colors.

Then, later on, you can go back and fill in the dialogue tags, description etc.

5. Fuck it and use a placeholder

If nothing works, it's time to move on.

Rather than perpetually getting stuck on that one scene, use a placeholder. Something like: [they escape somehow] or [big emotional talk].

And then continue with the draft.

This'll help you keep momentum and, maybe, make the scene easier to write later on once you have a better grasp on the plot and characters.

Trust me, I do this all the time.

It can take some practice to get past your Type A brain screaming at you, but it's worth it.

So, those are some things to try when a scene is being difficult. I hope that these tips help :)

Reblog if you found this post useful. Comment with your own tips. Follow me for similar content.

“Love Song” by Jordan Bolton

Part of “Scenes from Imagined Films” Comic, available on Etsy

can't stop listening to this