I love you so much and i can believe theres 3000+ people that tolerate me and like my art. You deserve some free art and all the good things in the world but i can offer only free art for now.
So anyways im giving away two headshots of any OC, character, real life people, whatever.
To participate in the giveaway, you must reblog this and follow me. Thats it.
Will be announcing the winners February 2nd . Good luck!
This was the last that that I painted(so long ago @__@) so I’m going to end the year with it! Mellodia, the Sea Protector! I guess not really *the* protector since she’s only one out of hundreds… okay and she’s basically a newbie, but that’s okay! She has fins and a narwhal horn!
A sea protector is really just a stabby volasi(sea elf) druid and she’s fairly new at it The professionals look more….fish-like. The longer they stay in the sea, the more fish-like they become. Mellodia doesn’t have many fish qualities yet!
Fine work Sel. Always nice to see your work.
Do have any tips for writing the first chapter? I'm the type of person where I have to start with the first chapter and work myself through, but I just can't seem to start the first chapter, I can't even start the first sentence! Please help
I definitely have some tips for you! I have a few here from before, but I’ll include some others.
1) Describe a feeling. If you start off telling us how your main character feels, we’ll be more attuned to their emotions and may care about them more off the bat. Describing the feeling and then the situation at hand, we’ll get to know about who your MC as well as the sort of world they’re living in. It likely won’t take up too much space throughout the chapter, but it’s a start and can branch off into a variety of paths.
2) Consider opening in medias res. Latin for “into the middle of things,” this literary device is most commonly known for its use in The Odyssey. With this sort of opening, you begin in the middle of an eventful scene and circle your way back later on to explain what led up to get there. It’ll make the beginning of your story eventful, and works most often in more action-based or dramatic stories.
3) Remember there’s always editing. No matter what you do write, it isn’t too important. You can always go back and change things with editing. Just take a breath, okay? If you have an idea of what to write but not how to write it, you can always make a note between bits of text that say things such as: [X action occurs and Character A responds in X way.] You can always change this later. It’s the beginning, and it’s okay to feel a little lost.
Just about every writer out there has several go-to websites that they use when it comes to their writing. Be it for creativity, writer’s block, to put you in the mood or general writing help. These are mine and I listed them in hopes that you’ll find something that you’ll like or find something useful. I’ve also included some websites that sounded interesting, but I haven’t tried out yet.
Spelling & Grammar
Tools
Information & Data
Word References
Writing Software
Creativity, Fun & Miscellaneous
Background Noise/Music
Welp, I finally reached 10k followers! Wow. I am so grateful!! I’ve been planning on doing a big art give away for quite some time now, so I am excited to do this! Here is what I am offering:
RULES!
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me. Thank you guys so much and good luck!
I get a lot of Asks from people who say they Googled their topic but didn’t find anything. Then I Google it and find a ton of resources. I prefer to think that this is because internet research can be daunting, so I am putting together this little guide in hopes of making internet research a little easier. Step One - Reduce your topic to the fewest number of words you can and try Googling it. For example, if your protagonist is a fireman, try Googling:
Step Two - Put the information you need into question form and Google it. For example, for your fireman character, you will need to know what it’s like to actually be a fireman. Try Googling:
Step Three - Think of different statements that describe the information you’re looking for. For example, if you want to know what it’s like in a firehouse, try Googling:
Step Four - See if there are any alternative words you could use to describe your topic and Google those. For example:
Step Five - Search for personal points-of-view by searching for blogs, interviews, forum posts, and experience essays. Using a fireman as an example, you could search for:
You can also search for an IamA (I am a…), which is a form of Ask Me Anything on Reddit. IamAs are posted by people with interesting jobs or careers who open themselves up to questions from other Reddit members. Reading through an IamA on your topic (if there is one) is a great way to learn from the personal point-of-view of an expert.
Step Six - Search for your topic on YouTube. I know it sounds crazy, but just do it. You never know what you might find. Case in point:
Now, Let’s Talk About Results: When you type a search term into Google, you’re likely to get millions of results. That can be very daunting if you’re not entirely sure what you’re looking for. So, how do you wade through all of that information to find what you’re looking for? To start with, you should be able to find enough information to help you within the first three pages of results. As you read down each page of results, just ignore things that obviously don’t pertain to your search, and when you see something that might pertain to your search, right-click on the result and then left-click “open in a new tab.” Let’s take a look at what comes up for “fireman”:
Clearly, we’re not looking for a Little Wayne song, so we can ignore that. Definitions might offer helpful information, but you probably already know the definition of your topic. Images can be helpful, but ignore them unless you need a visual. Wikipedia links, though not always accurate, are always worth opening. The article will give you a helpful overview of the topic—just make sure to double-check any facts you note down. So, one result for the first page isn’t bad. Pages two and three offered a few more worth opening. Now, let’s look at the results for “interview with a firefighter”:
Any search for a career plus “interview” is likely to bring up tips for people who are interviewing for a job in that career. In this case, most of the results on the first page were interviewing tips for prospective firefighters. However, there was one helpful hit—a video interview with a firefighter. That is exactly what we were looking for, so we’ll open up that tab. Once again, pages two and three had a few more links to actual interviews with firefighters as opposed to interviewing tips. Once you have three to five tabs open, you can start looking through each one to gather information on your topic. You can jot the notes down in a notebook, or you can open up a Notepad document (just be sure to save it a lot) and jot down your notes in there. It is also helpful to print out articles or interviews if you can, and then use a highlighter to keep track of important information. The three most important things you can do when doing internet research are: 1) Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed by all the information. Just take one result at a time and keep going until you have enough helpful information. 2) Be patient. While you should be able to find a lot of helpful information within the first few pages of results, sometimes you may need to look at several pages or try several different search terms. 3) Don’t give up! Research is important to your novel, and you’re really the only one who knows exactly what information you need. It may take hours or even days, but stick with it until you find the information you’re looking for. Sometimes a new search term to try will hit you out-of-the-blue, and that’s the one that brings up all the information you could want. Good luck and happy researching!
THANK YOU SO MUCH
1. Read. Even things outside of you preferred genre. The best books I’ve ever read go beyond the structure of the genre and touch well on things that are usually better handled in other types of writing. Reading also shows you more examples of characterization, scene structure, etc., and don’t be afraid to critique the book as you work through it.
2. Critique. Being helpfully critical of other writing is sometimes easier than working with your own, because you only have to work with what’s in front of you (like a reader of your story would). This can help you better prioritize what needs to be fixed first to last, plus you can get better at picking out problems and figuring out how to fix them.
3. Observe. In public, and maybe sometimes private, take some time to notice your surroundings and how people go about their lives. This can help with creating better description and a more natural setting/flow to scenes.
4. Talk. This is more useful for ideas, but find someone to bounce things off of. It doesn’t have to be anything big and they don’t need to know the whole story, just take one question like “How would you react if you suspected your friend was kidnapped?” and listen to what they say. The answer may not work in your story, but it can give you a new perspective that writers always need.
5. Take a break. And do some of the things above. When you return to your work, you may notice a difference in writing skill, even if it’s only on a tiny part of the piece. Breaks allow your brain to synthesize what you learn and let you recharge your energy, usually resulting in more confidence if handled correctly.
Good luck with your work and if there are any questions, drop them in my ask box and I’d be happy to answer.
Welp, I finally reached 10k followers! Wow. I am so grateful!! I’ve been planning on doing a big art give away for quite some time now, so I am excited to do this! Here is what I am offering:
RULES!
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me. Thank you guys so much and good luck!
More Raistlin!
the step by step process of this will be available on my Patreon on september 1st 😊
Welp, I finally reached 10k followers! Wow. I am so grateful!! I’ve been planning on doing a big art give away for quite some time now, so I am excited to do this! Here is what I am offering:
RULES!
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me. Thank you guys so much and good luck!
Welp, I finally reached 10k followers! Wow. I am so grateful!! I’ve been planning on doing a big art give away for quite some time now, so I am excited to do this! Here is what I am offering:
RULES!
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me. Thank you guys so much and good luck!
If you didn’t see my last post, my laptop is currently dying. Its got some serious issues with the graphics card that causes it to freeze and crash often, as well as that it no longer connects to wifi and doesn’t register wireless capability, so the wifi card is a mess too.
I can use the internet as of right now via ethernet cable but it can get knocked out weirdly enough by the graphics card issues. It’s not a pleasant predicament.
I’m waiting to hear back on separate custom quotes but checking around, I’ve seen repair quotes going for up to $150 each issue individually. (I live in New York City, I’m not surprised.) On top of bills, I’ll need $450 to comfortably cover everything, this is also including the off chance that some internal parts might need to be replaced entirely.
I’ll take commissions to raise funds! The price listed for each is per individual character, however if you’d like multiple characters I am willing to negotiate.
If you’re interested please email me at figgaboo.art@gmail.com. I will ask for payment up front so please provide your paypal email and any/all visual references for your character ready! If you have any questions as to what I can or will not draw, please feel free to email me as well, or if you’d want something different than what I am offering!
Also if you just would like to support me instead of commissioning me, reblogging this post, purchasing a print from my store or buying me a Kofi would be greatly appreciated!!
Our stories are often plagued with these common story problems, but if we don’t know how to fix them, we’ll never improve our writing. It’s important that you remember you don’t need to scrap your novel if you keep having the same issues over and over again. Hopefully this list will help you pinpoint what’s going on and provide ways for you to improve your novel.
Problem: Unmotivated Characters
If you’re having trouble figuring out where your story should go next, the problem could be with unmotivated characters. Characters aren’t in your novel just so you can push them around every once in a while and make them do things. They need to develop over time and keep your story going in the right direction.
Solution:
Work on your character’s wants, goals, and motivations. You need to figure out what’s driving your character if you want them to do anything. Where do they want to end up? What’s standing in their way? What’s their plan? Who will help them? Think about everything your character will need to do to resolve your novel. Focus on what they want and what motivates their actions and your characters will stop being dull and lifeless.
Problem: Boring First Chapters
A boring first chapter is dangerous because you want to captivate your audience right away. You don’t want to lose readers just because of this, but sometimes it happens. You should give enough information to keep your readers interested, while also keeping them intrigued enough to figure out what happens next.
Solution:
Putting emotion into your scenes from the beginning will not only help set the tone, but we’ll get an immediate understanding of your world. The best advice I can give is to construct a scene that helps us best understand your character. If they’re on the run, show us that they’re being chased. If they’re sad and lonely, construct a scene that lets us feel their isolation. You don’t necessarily need to open your book with action, but you do need to introduce the conflict. Think about what your character wants and go from there. Think of your first chapter as an introduction to an essay. You don’t go right into the points immediately, but you set us up for something good.
Problem: Plot Holes
Writers worry about forgetting to include important information in their novel that’s necessary to the plot. If you’re discovering that readers often point out plot holes in your story, maybe it’s time to reevaluate how you plan your novel.
Solution:
Pre-planning or prewriting your novel often solves any plot hole problems. If you take the time to write out important scenes so you don’t forget them, your story will become stronger. However, if you’re not someone who likes to do so much planning, you can tackle plot holes during the editing phase. Take notes when you’re editing so that you can catch these plot holes and figure out where you can add necessary information. A plot hole does not always mean your novel needs loads of reworking, but it is something you need to take the time to fill in.
Problem: Poor Pacing
Poor pacing can ruin a novel, but luckily it’s something you can tackle head on before you even start writing your story. Good pacing helps add tension to your novel and helps you make sure there’s enough rising and falling action to keep your story interesting.
Solution:
Planning out your novel ahead of time also helps solve pacing problems. You can create a timeline that helps you keep track and plan out when you want certain things to happen. Read up on story arcs and try to plan out your scenes accordingly. If you’re already done with your novel and you notice poor pacing, try rearranging scenes or spreading out the action.
Problem: Info-Dumping
A very common writing problem is info-dumping. This is when you tell your readers loads of information at a time without showing them anything important. Info-dumps usually occur in first chapters of novels, but they can happen anytime during the course of your story. Info- dumps can drag down your story and bore your readers.
Solution:
Cut out long paragraphs where you explain what’s going on in your novel and show your readers instead. Avoid over explaining things that can be explained through action. Letting your audience figure things out instead is a much more satisfying reading experience and it lets your readers connect with your characters on a deeper level.
-Kris Noel
oh oh gonna need this again later, tyvm
Welp, I finally reached 10k followers! Wow. I am so grateful!! I’ve been planning on doing a big art give away for quite some time now, so I am excited to do this! Here is what I am offering:
RULES!
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me. Thank you guys so much and good luck!
Welp, I finally reached 10k followers! Wow. I am so grateful!! I’ve been planning on doing a big art give away for quite some time now, so I am excited to do this! Here is what I am offering:
RULES!
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me. Thank you guys so much and good luck!
