Solidarity

Day 5: A Return to Childhood

I saw so many deaged SJs so I wanted to try my hand on it as well Xiao Jiu’s Qi-Ge is suddenly so big! And Yue Qingyuan can finally give him everything he couldn’t give when young.

hiii jess, do you have any video essay recs?

YES i do. i do.

any by jacob geller, but my personal favourites are who's afraid of modern art, the legacy of the haunted house, and fear of depths.

hbomberguy's fallout new vegas video (which i legitimately watch nearly weekly and i have actually cried over it before! i am a very stable person!) and also his pathologic video!

social constructs by philosophytube

why is lefttube so white? by kat blaque, and also!! her take on dave chappelle's comedy

naughty dog's game design is outdated by nakeyjakey

bo burnham vs jeff bezos by cj the x

scomo by friendlyjordies

bdg skyrim book report

the culture industry, and why marx was right: alienation by plasticpills

lana del rey: the pitfalls of having a persona by mina le

(not a video essay, more of a vlog, but) cooking in a vietnamese 'poverty' kitchen by luna oi!

the nostalgia critic and the wall by folding ideas

daddy issues, misogyny, and the pinnacle of male privilege by shanspeare

horror books have lost their identity, and the nightmare artist by in praise of shadows

the power of abandoned places by hello future me

the death of a euphemism by innuendo studios

if i think about them too long i’ll go insane (text from @/veniennes on tiktok)

Reporter: What’s your name?

Hong Kong Protestor: Lee Chun Hei! I won’t commit suicide!

Police: 

Coming into a fandom late

Hybrid Note Taking Style

A note taking method that blends the best of paper and digital note taking that I’ve been exploring lately. So far it’s working really well for me :) Hope it helps! 

Hybrid Note Taking Method

Problems with other note taking systems

Each note taking system has its pros and cons. Here are some of the problems I found with (fully) paper and (fully) digital note taking systems.

Paper

Can’t use the search function on your notes.

Can’t add images and other types of digital files easily.

Difficult to keep overview between notebooks.

Can’t share these as easily as digital notes.

Digital

Not as ‘romantic’.

Sometimes less engaging.

Lack of physical presence can lead to you forgetting about it.

Can be more difficult to do things like sketching, making schemes, making illustrations etc.

Benefits of Hybrid

I like using hybrid methods because they bring you the best of both worlds.

Easily searchable.

Information in your notes is traceable.

Makes it easier to find and carry out actions e.g. finding extra info.

Doesn’t damage books.

Allows you to embed different types of files.

What you’ll need

Source material (e.g. book, academic paper)

Any kind of notebook :)

Digital note-taking app → I like Notion (it’s free).

Step 1 - Read & number the material

As you go, use a pencil to lightly put numbers into the margins whenever you deem something worthy of noting down or remembering. This will help you locate the source of specific parts of your notes later.

Step 2 - Write Q&A-style notes

Write the information down in question-and-answer style. Come up with useful questions that link to the material you want to remember (e.g. Q → What is the main problem with using platform-based planning for new ventures? A → Assumptions underlying the plan are used as fact rather than best-guess estimates to be tested and questioned). Use the numbers you placed in the margin of the pages to specify the source of the information you used for each answer.

Example → Chapter 1 page 27 note 3 becomes 1.p27.3

Step 3 - Write actions as you go (Supporting notes)

Supporting notes

Write down your thoughts, anything you’re curious about, things you want to look up, things you’re confused about, actions you’ve been inspired to do, etc. For example → ?m Maybe I can apply this to my visualization assignment? / ! Look up what 'plurality of the future’ is / fex Organizational transformation through design. I find this a great way to support and manage the learning process.

Action key

Keep a small action key in which you have an overview of what your action marks mean (e.g. ?m→ questions to myself, f → find, fex → find example, ?? → I don’t get it, ! → general actions)

Don’t be afraid to customize your actions!

What you’ll get

Actionable notes

Your paper notes will contain a structured and easy to read overview of actionable items that came up during the reading. This can be questions you need answered, reminders to find specific information, etc. This will make them a lot harder to forget to do!

Easily traceable sources

With the codes you’ll be able to tell easily and quickly where the information you’ve written in your notes came from.

Searchable & review-ready notes

Notes will be (mostly) made in question-and-answer style. This will allow you to easily review using active recall. All you need to do is cover/hide the answer and you can check how well you truly know the material.

Thanks for reading!

Saviour

How to get back into a WIP when inspiration is lacking

1. Character exploration

You may be feeling uninspired because you find it difficult to enter your characters' minds.

A great way to dive into a character's point of view is writing a paragraph from their perspective on a topic like death, the meaning of life, loss etc.

I usually do this before I start a project, but it can be a great way to get back into the swing of things in the middle of a book.

2. Character songs/playlist

A lot of people write with music, curating playlists for their WIP.

I don't write with music, but it can be great to listen to a song or two before writing a specific scene or character's POV.

Curate a Playlist for your POV characters and listen to it when inspiration is running low.

3. Fake promotional material

This may just be a weird thing I do, but I love it.

When I really need a motivation boost, I create fake promotional material or swag designs for my WIP. Mock covers, bookmarks, posters, ads etc.

It reminds me what I'm working towards and that can help a lot.

4. Moodboards

Creating physical mood boards for your WIP or specific characters/locations and putting them up int your work space can do wonders for inspiration.

Every time you look at the moddboard, you're taken back to the moment when the idea first got into your head - a moment when you had oodles of inspiration.

You can also add to those mood boards whenever you need an extra shot of inspiration.

5. YouTube

Every time I watch an Authortube vlog, I feel motivated to work on my own writing.

Pick an Authortuber who resonates with you and has the life you hope to build. Watch one or two of their vlogs and that should light a fire under you.

Reblog if you found these tips useful. Comment with your own ideas. Follow me for similar content.