If You're Lamenting The Fact That You Used To Be Able To Shoot Through A 500-page Novel In Like A Day

“This too shall pass” well can it pass a little faster jeez

Some free or inexpensive comprehensible input, audio and video lessons, and listening practice stuff for popular languages because idk I felt like googling some stuff today

Arabic: Yale k-16 interactive reading, Arabic Comprehensible, Egyptic

Bengali: Bangla Shekho, Bengali Fairy Tales

Chinese (Mandarin): Comprehensible Chinese, hackingchinese.com, Acquire Mandarin, Comprehensible Mandarin, Blabla Chinese, Easy Mandarin, Mandarin Click

English: English Comprehensible input for ESL beginners, Dreaming English, EnglishClass101, British Council LearnEnglish, News in Slow English

French: French Comprehensible Input, alice ayel, Easy French, innerfrench.com, Little Talk in Slow French, Francais Authentique

German: DW Learn German, Naturlich German, Comprehensible German, Easy German, Löwenzahn, Deutsch Direkt, Learn German With Falk

Greek (modern): Natural Languages TRPS Greek, Helinka, Hellinic American Union, Easy Greek, Greekpod101

Greek (ancient): Easy Latin (Greek Course), Alpha With Angela (biblical [Kione] Greek), Chihon Teaches, Ancient Greek in Action, Athenaze

Hebrew: The Hebrew Adventure, Free Hebrew (Biblical Hebrew), Hebrew Time, thehebrewcafe.com

Hindi: Comprehensible Hindi, HindiPod101, Hindi TV, Easy Hindi

Hungarian: FluentBox, Magyar Hungarian, Speak Hungarian With Angie, Easy Hungarian,

Icelandic: Icelandic For Foreigners, icelandiconline.com, Ylhyra, Viltu laera islensku,

Italian: Italian For Americans, Easy Italian, Learn Italian With Lucrezia, teacherstefano.com

Japanese: Comprehensible Japanese, DailyJapanese, Akane Japanese Class, iroironanihongo, Japanese Immersion With Asami, Speak Japanese Naturally, Learn Japanese with Tanaka san,

Korean: Comprehensible Input Korean, Korean Patch, Immersion in Korean, Intuit Korean, Learn Korean in Korean, Hello Jadoo, MAVOCA, Storytime in Korean, Talk to Me in 100% Korean

Latin: Easy Latin, ScorpioMartianus, Quomodo Dicitur?, Found In Antiquity, The London Latin Course

Portuguese: Teach Yourself Portuguese, The Sounds of Portuguese, Portuguese With Leo, Easy Portuguese

Russian: Comprehensible Russian, Easy Russian, About Russian in Russian, Russian With Max, Russian from Russia, Real Russian Club

Spanish: Dreaming Spanish, Teacher Catalina. Hola Spanish, Easy Spanish,

sorry for romanticising the mundane. i have little else

little life update, got in a wreck and i haven't stopped thinking about it

📚✨ New Semester Vibes! ✨📚

Hey, Pookies,

I didn't have any summer classes, so it was hard to find things to post, so it was mostly reblogs and bookish crap, now that school is starting back up, I will be posting more, this blog was a good motovation for me to work, so I guess this was a long way of sayng expect more post, as for what I will be posting, the same little daily checklist, some book reviews and notes if you guys want them, and some writing/studying tips, if you want to suggest any post, please don't hesitate to reach out about ideas and things, I'm always looking out for mutuals and friends.

I was looking into starting an online book club... idk the logistics but I love talking about books, i even toyed with the idea of starting a youtube channel and talking about movies, and starting a side blog explicitly for my writing/photography/baking and cooking.

“writing fanfics is something I do in my free time for fun. I will not treat it like a job and will instead treat it like a hobby because that’s what it is.”

also how it feels being a fanfic writer:

Why You Should ‘Make Yourself’ Write (And How To Do It)

Most people who write for a hobby - especially the neurodivergent crowd - will write whenever they’re inspired, and many will be able to get an insane amount of writing done in one go, but then there’s a good while of writer’s block and low motivation/inspiration in between those bursts of creativity. You can see forcing yourself to write as something irrelevant to you; it’s just a hobby, so why burn yourself out forcing yourself to do it until it’s no longer fun?

The reason people say this, even for hobbyists, is so that you have some level of consistent progress; relying on random spikes in creativity or convenient hyperfocus isn’t a sustainable plan when it can either leave you burnt out after or leave you at a creative dead end for weeks or months between actual writing sessions

If you write consistently, you make progress consistently, so it’s good practice to make a habit out of using writing goals to keep you on track. Maybe you work best writing X amount of words, or maybe you prefer to write for X amount of time. Maybe you want to meet this goal every day, or maybe every few days, or maybe every week, or so on. I’m personally on 1000 words per week, and despite my autistic brain that thought I’d never be able to set and keep a consistent goal, I’ve been able to stick to it for nearly six months now. I also know people who are on 10 minutes per day, 100 words per week, 500 words every three days, 5000 words per month, etc

For me, being able to keep track of this not only means I get to see consistent progress being made, but it’s actually been really encouraging to see that word count go up so often and I’ve found that it motivates me to keep up with it. I’ve really enjoyed getting to work on this and having a minimum amount of progress per week really helps me feel like this is something real and something that’s slowly but surely going to be complete soon enough

Give it a try; say to yourself “if I want to achieve this goal, how long do I reasonably need to give myself to do it?” and have a go. After a few cycles it starts to register in your brain that, hey, you’re actually getting something done and being productive and watching that word count going up every day/week/etc! And don’t be afraid to change up your goal and your deadline if you think you’re not being challenged enough or if you’re starting to get burnt out on it - I’d consider it burning out when it’s consistently feeling less like a fun activity and more like a chore you have to do. It should still be fun!

Drafting Your Creative Time: Your Guide to Planning a Year of Creative Writing

2024 is about to start. You’re going to venture into another year of writing incredible stories, but what will that practically look like? I feel more in charge of my creativity by planning rough writing schedules. Here’s how you can do the same without locking yourself into a too-strict calendar that leaves your writing spirit depleted.

Set One Writing Goal

Twelve months is a lot of time, but anyone can handle a single goal. Make the next year easy on yourself by picking one thing you want to accomplish (and let’s not make it “publish my novel” if you’re just starting the manuscript on January 1, given how it takes roughly 18 months of work after you get an agent) (and that can take a few weeks to a few years, depending on your querying experience!). 

Try picking a manageable writing goal like these:

I will write 10 chapters of my novel.

I will make a collection of 5 short stories I write this year.

I will submit a short story to at least 3 contests this year.

I will publish one new work of fanfiction in the next 12 months.

I will write one short story in a new genre.

Publishing a book can be a long-term goal, but your 2024 goal should be easy to break down into manageable steps you can accomplish by yourself. You’ll be more likely to reach the finish line and work toward another goal.

Establish a Stress-Free Writing Schedule

Creativity comes and goes, but your writing will never get done if you don’t form some kind of schedule. Your upcoming year could look something like this:

I’ll write every Wednesday night between 7-7:30 p.m.

I’ll use voice-to-text to get my story-related thoughts on virtual paper for five minutes every morning before school.

I’ll do freestyle writing for five minutes on Mondays and Saturdays to keep my thoughts flowing, even if I don’t find more time to work on my story that week.

Your schedule should be realistic, which means it shouldn’t stress you out. Make it match your weekly and daily routine. When do you naturally feel most energized? When can you carve out ten minutes for your craft? 

Remember, you can always (and should!) adjust this set schedule as time goes on. Your non-creative schedule most likely won’t look the same on January 1 as it will on December 31.

Save a Few Writing Prompts

You might have a few weeks here or there when you’re juggling life’s responsibilities and can’t get to your WIP. It happens to all of us!

When you’re busy, try answering a writing prompt in three sentences or less. Use your phone, a sticky pad, or whatever’s nearby. You never know if it’ll inspire you later when you’re free to write.

In the meantime, you’ll keep using the creative side of your brain so your writing abilities don’t feel so distant.

Check out these prompt apps if getting online isn’t your thing or takes too much time from your busy schedule!

Find a Writing Community

There are so many ways to build a writing community. Start a tumblr about it (guilty as charged) or join a Facebook group. Find an active Reddit thread about your favorite genre or join a Discord server with writers. 

You don’t even need to start talking to others and making friends if it makes you anxious. Read what people are saying to get inspired by everyone. You’ll naturally join in when you get excited about something they’re discussing and keep creative writing at the front of your mind.

Read Lots of Books

I always feel more connected to my writing when I’m actively reading. Artists of any kind need a source of inspiration to keep their creativity flowing. Keep an actively growing To Be Read list with apps like Story Graph (a Goodreads-type app that isn’t owned by Amazon and gives so much more information about your curated reading history!).

Visit your local library if you don’t have the money for new books all the time (who does?). As you get inspired by what you read, you’ll also pick up skills from authors you admire or note things you don’t want to recreate. Study each story’s structure and character development. You’ll return to your WIPs with renewed passion.

Embrace the Scary Editing Stage

Your first draft is your thoughts and dreams poured out on paper. The editing stage is where you refine and re-write your work until it shines. Set aside specific time for editing after completing a first draft of any story. Even if your editing phase doesn’t take very long, working on line edits and developmental edits will make your work so much better.

It’s also a normal form of frustration for writers, but one that happens no matter where your writing goes (on fanfiction websites, short story contests, a literary agent’s desk, etc.).

Schedule Your Rest

Writing might feel like a natural hobby, but your brain and body still need to rest after periods of intense focus/work. Schedule rest periods into your daily or weekly calendar. It’s time to recharge in whatever ways best suit your body, like:

Sitting outside

Walking in a park

Reading

Sitting in a hot bath

Going to the movies

Sleeping in

Keep in mind that sometimes you’ll need more rest than others. Extend some self-compassion by checking in with your physical and mental energy frequently during the next year. If you take time to rest, you’ll be less likely to burn out creatively.

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This next year will be full of growth, challenges, and joys in your writing life. Embrace every second by resting and writing in new ways.

No offense but I think some of you would be a lot happier writing a fictional atlas or encyclopedia instead of a narrative story

You don’t need to say “She was sad.” Show me the untouched coffee gone cold. The half-written text that never gets sent. The way she laughs at a joke and then immediately looks away. People don’t announce their emotions, they live them, they try to hide them, they pretend they’re fine when they’re not. Make your readers feel it between the words.