I Will Never Not Share This When I Come Across It.

NOTE TO SELF-SLOW THE FUCK DOWN!

The single most important piece of writing advice I would give to a lot of amateur writers is to write less beautifully - or at least to write beautifully less.

I rarely find a piece of writing I can't read because it's too simple, or too concise and to-the-point - not memorable, perhaps, but also not a headache on a page. On the other hand, I see loads of pieces which are effectively unreadable because they're far too rich to swallow, and badly in need of watering down a bit.

The absolute worst culprit is the dialogue tags and stage directions. I'm a big fan of letting people write in their own style, but I would love it if a lot of writers could please cool it with letting me know every time a character blinks or licks their lips. I don't need to know that, especially if it happens every time they speak.

So many dialogue excerpts look like this:

"So this is how we talk?" he queried quietly, his eyebrows furrowed into knots. "Apparently," she replied with a puzzled grin, bouncing on the balls of her feet with restless energy. "Isn't that... exhausting?" he questioned, a lop-sided smile snaking its way across his lips. "The bouncing?" she asked shyly, her eyelids fluttering in shame. "No, of course not," he told her, his lean arms reached out to pull her closer. He buried his face into the mess of her hair, taking a deep breath of her perfume. "I just feel a little nauseated by all of these actions." "I don't know what you mean," she giggled, brushing the hair back out of her eyes as her cheeks flushed red. "Don't worry," he sighed, rolling his eyes up towards the ceiling.

I'm assuming this is a convention that comes from somewhere, given its ubiquity - perhaps somewhere in the world of fanfiction, where there will be short, intimate pieces entirely focused on the ways in which characters interact with each other. But to me, in an original work, it's so exhausting that I can't make it down the rest of the page.

Dialogue may be the worst, or most obvious offender, but the same principle extends pretty much everywhere else. Each line doesn't have to be some great quote you can hang on your wall, and it's hard to read a whole story written like that.

There's been some recent backlash on here against modern films where every line of dialogue is a quip, at the expense of building an authentic conversation, but that's how a lot of people start out writing - thinking that each sentence should be made as flowery as possible, when too many flowers in the same pot will crowd each other out.

You need to leave some gaps to let the sunlight in, and illuminate the beauty of the occasional flourish you do include. Think of it like vanilla extract, to make a reference that was topical when I started writing this post: you need to add a little for flavour, without which the writing will be too dull, but tip the bottle and I will actually be sick. Write beautifully less. Learn to embrace the prosaic.

(Source)

By observing existing products of the rehabilitation market one thing becomes clear. People with functional disabilities are restricted on current technology wheelchairs. Their mobilty is highly confined, even in environments specially designed for them. They are in an almost permanent sitting position and they aren't able to use anything intended for an able-bodied person. A closed door, a light switch or an ATM are out of reach. Existing standing powered wheelchairs are expensive, heavy and bulky. They also lack the ability to overcome small architectural barriers.

Laddroller combines an exoskeleton with a powered wheelchair. It offers simultaneous maneuverability from standing position and posture adjustment without additional complex mechanisms. Laddroller is a light and solid unit with small turning radius and minimal maintenance needs. It operates easily from any position of the user's posture and is able to climb curbs and overcome gaps even going forward thanks to its differentiated approach. High quality metal alloy frame, state of the art electronics, reliable motors and the ease of use, compile a unique, effective and promising product.

Laddroller is a patented invention of Dimitris Petrotos and Marios-Ermis Petrotos, a 3 year R&D project that it is already prototyped.

The irony of God's law being in schools full of hungry children. The futility of his commandments being in schools full of illiteracy. The uselessness of churches who refuse the poor. The sacrilege of Christians praising the rich even above their God.

The irony...

An artist : Aw man! I saw my arts were reposted on Instagram. I’ve asked them to take my arts down but they ignored me.

Me : Say no more! Click this link, then click ‘fill out this form’. Fill the form and wait for about 1-2 days, the staffs will remove the image you were reporting from the reposter’s account :^)

Boss makes a dollar while I make a dime so I take a shit on company time.

you gotta clock in and go piss, dont piss and then clock in. never surrender! steal company time forever

Omg the inside says "shattle"

gonna call in a shitter like it's a medevac helicopter and I'm a wounded GI in the jungles of Vietnam

Did this man make a reckless decision allowing a robot  to cut his hair? 🤖