The Skellingcorner

[aapstra]

Disney’s Comic Strip Artist’s Kit by Carson van Osten.

You might know these already, but it is such good stuff I don’t think anybody minds if I share it here again. These hand-outs were meant as a way to get beginning artists working on the Disney comics to overcome some recurring drawing problems.

I found this on Mark Kennedy’s awesome blog: Temple of the Seven Golden Camels. Hence the ‘To Mark’ dedication on the fist page which, I guess, features some pretty sound advice for any artist:

“Just keep drawing my friend… Draw like the wind!”

http://sevencamels.blogspot.com

[weneeddiversebooks]

storymagazine.org

An Apartheid of the Imagination

This week’s story is the first of our We Are Here Now Online Issue which features stories dedicated to women and other under-represented voices.

In all of my reading and book devouring, not once did I read a book that featured a black girl or woman. There were no black girls slipping into fantastical worlds and saving prophesied kings. There were no dark-skinned girls facing down their serial killer boyfriends or black women falling in love with their millionaire bosses. There were only white girls and women: blond women, brunettes, plucky redheads. Never a girl whose skin color was the same earth tone as mine.

[yung-witch]

this child is so patient with this name thing

[jellyfishjulie]

ladies invented your favorite science fiction subgenres

Margaret Cavendish - Mary Shelley -  Emma Orczy - Catherine Lucille Moore

[its-a-writer-thing]

Anonymous asked:

I was wondering if you had any advice for writing (ancient) prophecies?

fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment answered:

The thing about prophecies is that not many people like them… Not only are they clichéd, but they’re a very ham-fisted way of motivating your characters. If they have no choice about the outcome of events, your main character kind of has to do the thing, even if they don’t want to. It takes away their agency, and not many people can get behind a character that is dragged from one place to another where their choices have little or no impact on the direction of the story.

That said, you shouldn’t let this stop you from writing a prophecy in your own work. There are ways you can mix-up the whole prophecy trope, or alter it so that it doesn’t have too great of a command over your story:

• Leave Out the Specifics

The more specific you make the prophecy, the less wiggle room your main character(s) have to make their own choices. Maybe the end will always remain the same, but what about everything in between? If your prophecy details everything from the beginning to the end, then where are the surprises? Where is there room for character development?

Try to keep your prophecy free from absolute specifics so your characters have room to breathe a little.

• Vaguely Does It

Just because your character receives a prophecy, that doesn’t necessarily mean they interpret it correctly. It doesn’t mean they have absolute knowledge of everything in their world to draw on, and therefore know for sure the prophecy relates to something specific to them.

One of the best prophecy plot twists I’ve read so far is in John Lenahan’s Shadowmagic. To save on the spoilers, I recommend you just go read it and get an understanding of what I mean by this segment in writing. You should also (if you haven’t already) check out Shakespeare’s Macbeth, for a further example of a prophecy misinterpreted.

• Lost In Translation

Since you’ve specifically asked about an ancient prophecy, there are all sorts of ways you can have fun with it. Something that is ancient will have very little relevance in a modern-day society. Think about the way some people view the Old Testament of the Bible these days; all of that nonsense about not being able to wear a poly-cotton blend or lying with your fellow man just carries no weight anymore. Those were different rules for different times, and it all seems a bit silly when you read it with the benefit of hindsight.

Think about how certain kind of key areas, places or people mentioned within the ancient prophecy might appear in a different time frame. How does it affect the interpretation? What might your characters overlook or struggle to understand? This will involve a certain degree of choice from your cast and will allow them to manipulate their own story, even with the overarching consequences of the prophecy in tow.

• Don’t Make It the Absolute Focus

Character interactions, backstories, small subplots… all of these can exist alongside a prophecy and contribute towards a rich world and plot. If you can pull in these other elements to live alongside the predestined outcome, your readers may feel more part of a journey than an observer to a documentation of events.

Resources

• When Writing Prophecy, Hold the Cliché
• Writing Prophecies in Fantasy Novels
• Ancient Prophecies

I hope this helps…! Best of luck, Anon.

- enlee

[andreashettle]

[mirverse]

this short guide brought to you by an actual disabled person.

1. DO YOUR RESEARCH

This one should be obvious, right? Don’t write without researching what you are writing about. Disability is a complicated and complex issue and you shouldn’t operate on assumptions. 

But here’s the thing: reading Wikipedia doesn’t count as research. Go beyond that. 

2. DO NOT DEPEND ON MEDICAL JOURNALS AND SYMPTOM LISTS

While it’s a good idea to consult medical literature, remember that - especially when it comes to invisible disabilities and neurodivergence - doctors can only tell you what the disease looks like, not what it feels like. While you should most certainly know how the disability in question presents, you should not rely on the word of medical practitioners alone. 

3. LISTEN TO ACTUAL DISABLED PEOPLE

To write authentically, with an understanding of what you’re writing, you will need to talk to and listen to disabled people. You will not be able to gain an understanding of what it feels like to be disabled, to have a particular condition, without talking to people who have it. Do not ignore this step or you risk writing a shallow (and often inaccurate) stereotype.

Of course, when approaching someone for information, remember to be respectful and not voyeuristic. Be prepared to be told to get lost - not everyone likes to be a source of information for the abled. 

4. DO NOT WRITE STEREOTYPES

There are many condition-specific stereotypes and I can’t really cover them all in a short guide. However, there are two broad stereotypes that are applied to the vast majority of disabled people and you should work to avoid both:

The Saintly Inspiration

Do not write disabled people who suffer without a single complaint, who Strive Hard to Overcome their Limitations and Succeed. Disabled people do not exist to inspire you. Disabled people do not “fail” if they do not reach abled standards of “success”. 

Certainly, there are struggles when one is disabled. Do not frame them as overcoming the disability: often, the real obstacle is not the disability but the lack of accommodation, understanding and support. 

The Bitter Cripple[1]

Do not write disabled people who are portrayed as unrelentingly negative, bitter and cynical and are cast in a bad light because of this. Disability is tough and some develop coping methods that may seem harsh to abled people, but it is what must be done to survive. 

5. DO NOT EMPLOY MIRACULOUS CURES

Disability shapes and moulds a person in many ways. Miraculous cures erase a part of a disabled character for a cheap happy end. It is an insulting and belittling tactic that tells disabled readers that they, too, need to be fixed, instead of being accepted and supported as they are. 

[1] If you’re not physically disabled, you shouldn’t use “cripple”. Characters may self-describe as such, depending on their attitude to their disability, but outside of fiction, the able-bodied should not use this term. 

[andreashettle]

6. Use disabilityinkidlit and its Wordpress counterpart, http://disabilityinkidlit.wordpress.com as resources. These sister blogs (particularly the reviews at at the Wordpress version) are a way to learn more detail about the kind of tropes and stereotypes that often annoy many disabled readers the most.

7. Consider joining the Disabookability Facebook group.  It’s not all people with disabilities, and it’s not all people who necessarily share the same disabilities as the characters they are reading. But following along with this ongoing conversation about disability in books, film, TV, plays, etc. could give you more of an idea the kinds of things readers are hoping for when they read a book featuring a disabled character.

[legit-writing-tips]

[thepsychmind]

More Psychology facts here

[legit-writing-tips]

Actually a good resource for writing about body language.

[raptureslittlesister]

Here’s a few random bits and pieces from my Big daddy bouncer!

[fandonetrash]

[realbobdylan]

Alternatives to ‘Sioux’

[doyoumisterjones]

As you may know, the word ‘Sioux’ is considered to be a slur amongst members of the Oceti Sakowin. It is not our word for ourselves, but rather a name given to us by another nation and perpetuated by the Europeans / Euro-Americans.

You also may have noticed that our official tribe names often contain the word ‘Sioux’ (‘Oglala Lakota Sioux Tribe’ for example.) The reason for this is entirely legal. When our treaties were drafted, they were written as an agreement between the US Government and the ‘Sioux Nation.’ For this reason, we cannot fully abandon the name. However, when we’ve had opportunities, we’ve dropped the name in places we can (’Oglala Lakota County,’ for example, a name chosen by the rezidents.)

Simply put, members of the Oceti Sakowin generally don’t refer to themselves as ‘Sioux’ and, if we can’t change it legally, at least we can continue to assert our identity on our terms. So, if you choose to respect that, here’s a quick Oceti Sakowin education guide:

Oceti Sakowin (Seven Council Fires) 

Oceti Sakowin (encompasses all language dialects) is the simplest and broadest replacement for ‘Sioux.’ You can use this term if you aren’t aware of the specific language group to which ‘Sioux’ refers. Within the Oceti Sakowin are three main groups, which are further divided into seven subgroups:

Isanti Oyate (Santee — Dakota Dialect)

• Ble Wakantunwan (Mdewakanton*) - Spirit Lake
  
• Wahpetunwan (Wahpeton) - Leaf Village
  
• Wahpe Kute Tunwan (Wahpekute) - Leaf Archers
  
• Sinsin Tunwan (Sisseton) - Swamp Village
  

Wiciyela Oyate (Yankton/Yanktonais — Dakota Dialect ; commonly mislabeled as Nakota* Dialect)

• Ihanktunwan - End of Horn Village
• Ihanktunwanna - Little End of Horn Village
  

Tinte Oyate (Tetons — Lakota Dialect)

• Tinte Ta Tunwan (Tintatunwan Oceti Sakowin) - Plains Nation
  

Within the Tinte Ta Tunwan / Tintatunwan Oceti Sakown (#7), there are another seven subdivisions:

Tintatunwan Oceti Sakowin - Lakota

• Oglala - Scatters Their Own (Pine Ridge Indian Reservation)
  
• Sicangu - Burnt Thighs (Rosebud Reservation, Lower Brule Reservation)
  
• Hwohwoju (Mnikiwoju/Mniconjou) - Swamp Plant  (Cheyenne River Reservation)
  
• Itazipcola (Itazipco) - No Bow  (Cheyenne River Reservation)
  
• Owohe Nunpa (Oohenunpa) - Two Paunch Boiler (Cheyenne River Reservation)
  
• Sihasapa - Black Feet (Cheyenne River Reservation, Standing Rock Reservation)
  
• Hunkpapa - End of Horn (Standing Rock Reservation)
  

*modern terminology
*In the past, the term Nakota has been applied to the Yankton, but this is a mistake. The Yankton speak Dakota. Nakota speakers are Assiniboine / Hohe and Stoney, who broke off from the Yankton at a time so long ago their language is now nearly unrecognizable to Lakota and Dakota speakers.

[nativepeopleproblems]

This is really good to know! Question though: is there an alternative word to Siouan for when referring to the larger language class?

[realbobdylan]

As far as I know there isn’t outside of referring to the group, and my guess behind this is there was never a need for an all-encompassing language-specific term before anthropology categorizations (but if someone is aware of one, feel free to jump in.) To my knowledge, the best one can do is either refer to the Oceti Sakowin as a whole, or name the specific language dialects: Lakota and Dakota (Nakota inclusion still highly debatable.) 

I know you didn’t ask this, but I noticed this question in someone’s tag so I’m going to use this reblog to address it. The pronunciations are:

Oceti Sakowin - Oh-CHE-Di  SHA-ko-weeŋ  (the ending ‘n’ is said at the back of the throat and not fully enunciated, much like the ‘n’ in the word ‘sing.’ ‘T’ is pronounced as a halfway between a ‘d’ and ‘t’. )

Lakota - La-KȞO-da (’ȟ’ indicates a slight guttural noise, again like the ‘k’ is being said at the back of the throat but loudly. Somewhat like the ending ‘k’ in the word ‘lock,’ but more pronounced. Again, ‘T’ is pronounced as a halfway between a ‘d’ and ‘t’.)

Dakota - Da-KȞO-da (see Lakota)

Bonus: The most prominent difference between the language dialects is the switching of the ‘L,’ and ‘D.’ So the Lakota word for grandfather–’tunkasila’–would in Dakota be ‘tunkasida’

Hope that info helps you, Tumblr (or Tumbdr for the Dakota in the audience)

[alexreadsboooks]

Day 16 of #marchmonthofmythology is Antigone - character who stands up for what they believe in
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Okay so I’m neither the hugest fan of Katniss nor of the trilogy as a whole, but Katniss definitely stood up for what she believed in, I can’t fault her for that.
The weather was so beautiful these past two day, I’m sad the weather report said it will get cold again tomorrow. But it’s still early in the year, well get there.
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#bookstagram #bookish #booklover #bookworm #booklr #books #bibliophile #marchbookchallenge #bookstagrammer #booklove #booksofinstagram #instabook #read #reading #reader #buch #bücher #lesen #bookstagramfeature  #bookphotography #leser #igbooks #bookishallure