Writing Description Notes:

money is such an underrated accessibility option.

like people want to think any disabled person who is after money is morally suspect some way, because they're not asking for "treatments" or "accommodations" like a lot of our issues can be fixed way more easily with money. can't drive? paying for a taxi is often one of the more accessible alternatives. can't cook? you can pay more to have prepared food delivered to you. food restrictions? that food straight up costs more money. can't clean? you can pay for someone to do that. house inaccessible? having (lots) of money can help with that, you get the gist.

having money won't make us abled. it also won't stop our symptoms from being distressing, painful, or debilitating. but there's a huge gap in experience between the average poor disabled person and someone who's actually wealthy. you can buy your way out of some of the difficult situations most disabled people are left to rot in. wanting money, needing money, asking for money is pretty natural when it's such a useful tool. why get so weird about disabled people wanting money like i'm pretty sure everyone wants money anyway

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𝔦𝔱’𝔰 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔦𝔪𝔭𝔬𝔰𝔰𝔦𝔟𝔩𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔢 𝔰𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔰𝔣𝔦𝔢𝔡

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i think people (men and men-simps) miss a crucial aspect of women hating men.

the harm it inflicts.

if a woman hates men and is vocal about it, the worst that happens is she alienates the men in her life and hurts some feelings.

but that's the extent of it. our society doesn't discriminate against men. our society doesn't value women's contributions over men's. our society doesn't sexualize men the way it sexualizes women. men aren't generally viewed by society as a commodity or a prize at the end of the battle or a reward for being a decent person. our society doesn't view men as tools for sexual gratification and nothing more. "misandry" is low-stakes.

and it's borne of misogyny. men hate us, men oppress us, men violate us, men have built the world to tear down our self-esteem and minimize our worth, men assault us, men are in charge and then they pay us less and don't promote us, men control our bodies and send us to prison if we don't act as incubators against our will, men view us as free maids and mothers and shoulders to cry on before using our holes for their own enjoyment. we don't know which man will hurt us like this by looking, we act suspicious and they tell us we're paranoid we trust them and get hurt and they tell us we should've known better.

of course we hate men. men oppress us in all facets of society and despite decades of progress we're still suffering under them, and it's getting worse with the overturn of Roe v. Wade and the election of a rapist into our nation's highest office because America hates women more than it hates rapists. it's to be expected that we would hate men.

when we hate men, we hurt feelings. when men hate us, we are murdered and violated and exploited and imprisoned.

and before the terf accusations pile on, i do not count trans women as men. i support anyone joining Team Woman. my goal is to smash the patriarchy, not other women.

yeah, it’s like that atwood quote about how men are afraid that women will laugh at them while women are afraid that men will murder them

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a list of 100+ buildings to put in your fantasy town

academy

adventurer's guild

alchemist

apiary

apothecary

aquarium

armory

art gallery

bakery

bank

barber

barracks

bathhouse

blacksmith

boathouse

book store

bookbinder

botanical garden

brothel

butcher

carpenter

cartographer

casino

castle

cobbler

coffee shop

council chamber

court house

crypt for the noble family

dentist

distillery

docks

dovecot

dyer

embassy

farmer's market

fighting pit

fishmonger

fortune teller

gallows

gatehouse

general store

graveyard

greenhouses

guard post

guildhall

gymnasium

haberdashery

haunted house

hedge maze

herbalist

hospice

hospital

house for sale

inn

jail

jeweller

kindergarten

leatherworker

library

locksmith

mail courier

manor house

market

mayor's house

monastery

morgue

museum

music shop

observatory

orchard

orphanage

outhouse

paper maker

pawnshop

pet shop

potion shop

potter

printmaker

quest board

residence

restricted zone

sawmill

school

scribe

sewer entrance

sheriff's office

shrine

silversmith

spa

speakeasy

spice merchant

sports stadium

stables

street market

tailor

tannery

tavern

tax collector

tea house

temple

textile shop

theatre

thieves guild

thrift store

tinker's workshop

town crier post

town square

townhall

toy store

trinket shop

warehouse

watchtower

water mill

weaver

well

windmill

wishing well

wizard tower

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Emotional Walls Your Character Has Built (And What Might Finally Break Them)

(How your character defends their soft core and what could shatter it) Because protection becomes prison real fast.

✶ Sarcasm as armor. (Break it with someone who laughs gently, not mockingly.) ✶ Hyper-independence. (Break it with someone who shows up even when they’re told not to.) ✶ Stoicism. (Break it with a safe space to fall apart.) ✶ Flirting to avoid intimacy. (Break it with real vulnerability they didn’t see coming.) ✶ Ghosting everyone. (Break it with someone who won’t take silence as an answer.) ✶ Lying for convenience. (Break it with someone who sees through them but stays anyway.) ✶ Avoiding touch. (Break it with accidental, gentle contact that feels like home.) ✶ Oversharing meaningless things to hide real depth. (Break it with someone who asks the second question.) ✶ Overworking. (Break it with forced stillness and the terrifying sound of their own thoughts.) ✶ Pretending not to care. (Break it with a loss they can’t fake their way through.) ✶ Avoiding mirrors. (Break it with a quiet compliment that hits too hard.) ✶ Turning every conversation into a joke. (Break it with someone who doesn’t laugh.) ✶ Being everyone’s helper. (Break it when someone asks what they need, and waits for an answer.) ✶ Constantly saying “I’m fine.” (Break it when they finally scream that they’re not.) ✶ Running. Always running. (Break it with someone who doesn’t chase, but doesn’t leave, either.) ✶ Intellectualizing every feeling. (Break it with raw, messy emotion they can’t logic away.) ✶ Trying to be the strong one. (Break it when someone sees the weight they’re carrying, and offers to help.) ✶ Hiding behind success. (Break it when they succeed and still feel empty.) ✶ Avoiding conflict at all costs. (Break it when silence causes more pain than the truth.) ✶ Focusing on everyone else’s healing but their own. (Break it when they hit emotional burnout.)

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How to avoid White Room Syndrome

by Writerthreads on Instagram

A common problem writers face is "white room syndrome"—when scenes feel like they’re happening in an empty white room. To avoid this, it's important to describe settings in a way that makes them feel real and alive, without overloading readers with too much detail. Here are a few tips below to help!

Focus on a few key details

You don’t need to describe everything in the scene—just pick a couple of specific, memorable details to bring the setting to life. Maybe it’s the creaky floorboards in an old house, the musty smell of a forgotten attic, or the soft hum of a refrigerator in a small kitchen. These little details help anchor the scene and give readers something to picture, without dragging the action with heaps of descriptions.

Engage the senses

Instead of just focusing on what characters can see, try to incorporate all five senses—what do they hear, smell, feel, or even taste? Describe the smell of fresh bread from a nearby bakery, or the damp chill of a foggy morning. This adds a lot of depth and make the location feel more real and imaginable.

Mix descriptions with actions

Have characters interact with the environment. How do your characters move through the space? Are they brushing their hands over a dusty bookshelf, shuffling through fallen leaves, or squeezing through a crowded subway car? Instead of dumping a paragraph of description, mix it in with the action or dialogue.

Use the setting to reflect a mood or theme

Sometimes, the setting can do more than just provide a backdrop—it can reinforce the mood of a scene or even reflect a theme in the story. A stormy night might enhance tension, while a warm, sunny day might highlight a moment of peace. The environment can add an extra layer to what’s happening symbolically.

Here's an example of writing a description that hopefully feels alive and realistic, without dragging the action:

The bookstore was tucked between two brick buildings, its faded sign creaking with every gust of wind. Inside, the air was thick with the scent of worn paper and dust, mingling with the faint aroma of freshly brewed coffee from a corner café down the street. The wooden floorboards groaned as Ella wandered between the shelves, her fingertips brushing the spines of forgotten novels. Somewhere in the back, the soft sound of jazz crackled from an ancient radio.

Hope these tips help in your writing!

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Soooo maybe an oddly specific question. Could you recommend your favorite books about politics in the last decade? Or even in the last 20 years? My school sucked and I'm trying to learn about modern politics on my own but there's so much content available that I'm lost. And you're very smart and read a lot, so I'm hoping you have recommendations. Thanks!!!

Omg thank you, I do read a lot so I’m glad someone appreciates it. 

Here are my top 20 books on politics and related sociological issues. I included some of these in a list I made over Christmas but I'll add to it here, and most are from the last 20 years. 

This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral — plus plenty of valet parking! — in America’s Gilded Capital by Mark Leibovich

They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South by Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers

The Destruction of Hillary Clinton by Susan Bordo (pair with What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton)

All the President's Men by Carl Bernstein

We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

The Cruelty is the Point by Adam Serwer

Why We're Polarized by Ezra Klein

Women & Power: A Manifesto by Mary Beard

The Soul of America: The Battle for our Better Angels by Jon Meacham

This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future by Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns

Political Fictions by Joan Didion

A Promised Land by Barack Obama

The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin

The Optimistic Leftist: Why the 21st Century Will Be Better Than You Think by Ruy Teixeira 

The Perils of “Privilege” by Phoebe Maltz Bovy

Both/And by Huma Abedin

Renegades by Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen (usual recommendation to listen to their podcast)

Beautiful Things by Hunter Biden (As you can tell by the below excerpt, Hunter Biden is me fr fr)

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It is incredibly important to train yourself to have your first instinct be to look something up.

Don't know how to do something? Look it up.

See a piece of news mentioned on social media? Look it up.

Not sure if something is making it to the broader public consciousness, either because you don't see it much or you see people saying nobody is talking about it? Look it up.

Don't know what a word means? Look it up.

It will make you a better reader and a better writer, but it will also just make you more equipped to cope with the world.

So often, I see people talking about something as though it is the first time anyone has ever acknowledged it, when I've been reading reports about it on the news for months or years. Or I see someone totally misinterpreting an argument because they clearly don't know what a word means--or, on the other hand, making an argument that doesn't make sense because they aren't using words the right way.

Look things up! Check the news (the real news, not random people on social media)! Do your research! You (and the world) will be better for it.

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Questions Your Character Is Too Afraid to Ask

(But desperately needs the answer to) Because these are the thoughts they won’t say out loud, but they shape everything they do.

If I stopped trying, would anyone notice?

Do they actually like me, or do I just make their life easier?

Am I hard to love?

What would they say about me if I left the room?

Would they stay if they saw the real me?

What if I’m only good at pretending to be good?

Was it actually love, or just obligation?

What happens if I fail again? What’s left of me then?

How long until they get tired of me?

What if I deserve the things I’m afraid of?

Am I healing or just hiding better?

Why do I feel more myself when I’m alone?

Do I want to be forgiven or just forget?

What if I never become the person they believe I am?

Am I still angry, or just numb?

Why can’t I let go of them, even after everything?

If they hurt me, and I stayed, did I hurt myself more?

Am I building a future, or just distracting myself from the past?

Is this what I want, or just what I’ve been told to want?

What if I was never meant to survive this, but I did anyway? Now what?

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Reactions to...

Reactions to… getting betrayed

Reactions to… getting kissed

Reactions to… the other being jealous

Reactions to… seeing someone again after a long time

Reactions to… being stuck somewhere

Reactions to… a love confession

Reactions to... being punched

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