So My Health, Both Mentally And Physically, Is A Hot Mess. But At Least I’ve Been Writing

But maybe I just wanna write fanfic right now, even though I could hypothetically write original work and try to get published. Maybe I just wanna right novel length fics about my favorite K-Pop idols instead. Like is that allowed?

if it's good enough for you, then it deserves to be made. don't let anyone else decide if your story is worth it or not.

If you’re shrouded in writers block and desperately want to shoo it away to keep going with your WIP, it sometimes helps to delete the last few sentences/paragraph/scene and rewrite it. Sometimes you accidentally build dams in your creative stream and the only way around is to go back and break it down

One thing I don't see show up as a consideration in worldbuilding a lot is what things are professionalized.

By that I mean how (and whether) certain activities or focuses are conducted in an organized, professional manner or treated as a career path or industry (often with set standards or training involved) rather than those that are treated primarily as hobbies or conducted in an ad hoc manner.

Standing armies, for example, are professionalized in a way that temporary armies or militias aren't. Being in the military is a profession that is organized and has specific standards and training and that clearly distinguishes between people who are or are not in the military. If we look at a lot of past wars, though, as well as many militias, being in the military was not a career for most people (especially most enlisted) and the time and effort between deciding to join and being on a battlefield was significantly smaller.

A professionalized military will generally be a stronger, more cohesive, more effective military--but it is also far more expensive to maintain, because as it is a profession the military servicemembers pull their salary from the military on a regular basis, and it takes away hands from other tasks such as manufacturing and farming.

Over the last few hundred years a lot of countries have seen (to varying degrees) professionalization of fields like firefighting, policing, pharmacology, emergency response, and search and rescue. In these cases, it reflects 1) a recognized need for a standing trained force that can respond quickly; 2) a recognized need for standards and credentialing; 3) the ability societally to have individuals who might otherwise be contributing to manufacturing or food production not do that indefinitely; 4) a dedicated ongoing effort to maintain standards, trainings, etc.; and 5) organizations (generally governments) that can pay for these services.

We also see the professionalization of other things, like youth sports--the push to treat youth sports as either primarily a system to develop professional athletes or a career on its own.

When you're doing worldbuilding, consider what roles would be treated in this professionalized manner, rather than those that would be viewed as temporary positions or conducted on an ad hoc basis.

Is there a standing professional military? How does the professionalization differ between officers and enlisted?

Is emergency preparedness, response, or recovery a professionalized field? Is the focus of that profession on planning? On search and rescue, triage, or other immediate response activities or coordination? On rebuilding following disasters? On managing grants, tax relief, or other monetary aspects of rebuilding?

Is pharmacology a regulated industry that requires training or credentialing? Is medicine?

Is firefighting generally conducted by individuals in the neighborhood? By private industry? By unpaid volunteers managed by a governmental or non-governmental organization? By full-time paid staff?

Are these positions generally a full-time job or an ad hoc/as needed job that can be called on? If it is an ad hoc position, what are the credentialing requirements to be put on the roster?

All the time, except the way my adhd is set up I never remember. I’ve googled paradigm meaning so many times, and I still couldn’t tell you what it means.

Anybody else keep having to search up words you learnt from reading just to make sure it means what you think? Cus I just had to search up the word perturbed cus I only had the feeling of the word.

in means feeling anxious or unsettled btw.

You don't need anyone's approval for the stories you write and the art you create. But it's also absolutely valid to want some approval from your audience. Kudos and likes don't determine your creation's worth. But it just feels amazing to receive them.

I think, as much as I want to write today, I need a break. Hopefully the voices let me actually take one.

being disabled will really have you thinking/saying things like “yeah i’m not really THAT disabled. as long as i take my meds twice a day (and as needed), eat and drink exactly the right things, keep the perfect balance of being active and resting, the weather is stable, and nothing unexpected happens AT ALL… i’m totally FINE! i probably should not even call myself disabled at this point because i’m doing so well!”

if you don’t want to call yourself disabled, that’s fine and it is your choice! but if you’re only “fine” or “doing really well” when a bunch of different variables are all lined up perfectly, then maybe you are not fine actually. just a thought!

Forced Proximity Dialogue Prompts

Haven't done one of these in a while.

"Come on, this isn't funny." "I'm not joking. It's locked."

"Is that the only tent we have?"

"There's only one bed." "Well, darlin', I'm not sleeping on the floor, so I guess we'll have to share."

"I'm your bodyguard. It's in the job description to protect you at all times." "Well, could you at least 'protect' me from over there?"

"You have got to be kidding me. I have to share a room with you."

"What do you mean there's only one sleeping bag? You had one job."

"Quit following me!" "I was hired to follow you, princess, better get used to it."

"What the hell is that noise?" "Uh, yeah, slight problem. We're out of gas."

"Where are you going? We're in the middle of nowhere!" "Yeah! And whose fault is that?"

"Look around, love. In case you hadn't noticed we're snowed in. So unless you plan to freeze to death, we'll have to find a way to keep each other warm."

"I may be stuck with you, but I don't have to like it."

"Is now a bad time to tell you I'm claustrophobic?"

"Your heart's racing. Now, I know being pressed up against me is exhilerating and all, but I'm trying to concentrate on picking this lock."

"What are you? Afraid?"

"Uh. Slight problem. We're trapped."

"Well, which way, smartass?" "Uh. We might be lost."

Yes, because what if I wanna read it. Ever think about that?

I hate to break it to you, but they were right. You really do just have to finish that first draft. It can be a hot mess, but you can’t clean up a room that doesn’t exist