I'm blogging this cause this is genius
There’s a trope known as “What You Are In The Dark”, and it’s really useful for showing your audience what kind of person a character is.
It’s essentially where a character, usually- but not always- the protagonist, is in a uniquely tempting situation. They have the opportunity to do something they want to do, something that’s selfish and usually, objectively wrong. They WANT to do it on some level, it’s a benefit, and there won’t be any negative consequences for them. And the cherry on top: Nobody who’s opinion they care about will ever know what they’ve done.
Sometimes, it’s something like not saving someone who was horrible to you. Sometimes it’s a little more active, like an alter ego they can use to express their desires. But it’s always, metaphorically speaking, “in the dark”. Nobody sees, or anyone that sees doesn’t know it’s them, or nobody they care about sees and knows it’s them.
What the character does in that situation tells the audience who that character really is. What they’re like under any facades or pleasantries they may put up. What you are in the dark defines you. You are at your most YOU when nobody is looking.
Usually, if the character is a hero, they’ll throw away this opportunity. They’ll face the little voice whispering, “No one will ever know,” and tell it, “I’LL know.” Because they know whatever they have the chance to do is wrong, and they know they’d be torn up about it. Even with no external restrictions, there’s a little guiding force telling them to do good, or at the very least, NOT do evil.
If the character takes the opportunity to do something bad when no one is looking, they’re not a good person.
And yes, this trope CAN be invoked accidentally.
okoye + that side eye
I still think that my favorite urban legend/folklore fact is that there are certain areas in New Orleans where you cannot get a taxi late at night not because it isn’t safe, but because taxi companies have had recurring problems of picking up ghosts in those areas who are not aware that they are dead and disappearing from the cab before reaching the destination and therefore stiffing the driver on the fare causing a loss for the company.
I really admire how you've grown your Tumblr. Can you share how you started off on this platform and what advice you would give a new Tumblr use who's a writer who wants to do the same?
So You Want To Start A Blog? Here’s a little bit about getting started. Some advice, some resources, some things you may want to keep handy, etc.
Post consistently and try to keep a comprehensive theme/sensibility to your content and your blog. You want people to visit again and again, and you want them to immediately be interested in whatever you post when it appears on their dashboard. You want to stay in their mental orbit when they’re logged on, and you want to continue capturing their attention by regularly posting things they’d expect based on what they can see on your blog. Do what you have to do to stay motivated and keep that goal in your mind.
How To Motivate Yourself To Write
Healthy Forms of Motivation
How To Have A Productive Mindset
Why “Burnout” Is Okay - The Creative Cycle
“Does What I’m Writing Matter?”
Taking Writing Seriously For The First Time
Finding Time To Write
Take advice with a grain of salt. A lot of this is luck and algorithms. Do what you can and remember that your speed of growth often has little to do with the quality of your content. The only thing I can guarantee is that if you stop posting and stop producing content, you’ll stop growing. Every like, every reblog, and every follow affects your blog more than you know.
Tips & Advice for Aspiring Authors, Writers, and Poets
How To Write An Article People Will Read
On Getting Started As A Writer
Tips on Getting Higher Engagement
For Writers Who Want To Become Popular
Masterlist
If you enjoy my blog and wish for it to continue being updated frequently and for me to continue putting my energy toward answering your questions, please consider Buying Me A Coffee, or pledging your support on Patreon, where I offer early access and exclusive benefits for only $5/month.
Shoutout to my $15+ patron, Douglas S.!
You know what. I’m starting a new aesthetic, population me.
Romantic Science, AKA Dark Academia for STEM people.
Thrifting a lab coat and embroidering it with your initials and a little insignia, whose significance is known to you and your lab partner only
Watching The Theory of Everything and The Imitation Game and Hidden Figures and basically every movie about historical scientists and mathematicians you can find
Decorating your desk with old slide rules and vintage lab equipment. Your prize possession is a set of vintage lenses you found at a thrift store
Wanting an articulated human skeleton far, far too much
Getting a set of (brand new, NOT thrifted, be safe ppl) beakers to drink from, and putting them directly onto your stovetop to boil water for tea or coffee, because borosilicate glass can survive anything.
Secretly relating far too much to Henry Jekyll and Victor Frankenstein, because you too want to do a gay little science experiment that challenges god.
Thunderstorms and late nights in the lab, the light of the Bunsen burner glistening off of your flasks and scribbled chalkboard equations
Papering your walls with vintage scientific diagrams; even if you know that our understanding of the world has evolved since they were made, looking back at scientific history is amazing
Writing code late at night and feeling, in some metaphysical way, as though Ada Lovelace herself is with you in spirit
Being far, FAR too obsessed with the concept of emergent ai sentience and how it has the potential to be Frankenstein irl
Looking through a telescope on clear nights, whispering the names of the constellations and stars, painting a star chart on your ceiling in a burst of creative inspiration
Collecting and mounting samples from everywhere you can think of to pore over in an antique microscope
Bringing a field journal wherever you go, learning how to draw and label botanical samples, preserving plants and flowers for study later
Dreaming of what undiscovered mysteries lie in the deepest depths of the sea, feeling the thrill of discovery whenever you learn about a new species and one day hoping to discover one yourself
Just. Romanticise STEM.
so I got into grad school today with my shitty 2.8 gpa and the moral of the story is reblog those good luck posts for the love of god
any adhd kids out there that loved long (3+ hour) car rides because it gave you an acceptable excuse to stare blankly out at an ever-changing background and listen to music on loop / daydream extensively please raise your hands. i wanna check something
i’ve compiled a masterpost of tips that i have reblogged over the past few months and i thought it would be easier to have it all in one place. none of these posts are by me! huge thanks to everyone that has created these tips.
finals: survival guide for the brave
pennyfynotes’ guide to exam season
study tips for exams
tips for doing well on exams
how to accept and grow from failure
how to avoid education burnout
how to be an efficient test-taker
how to cope with exams
how to get straight a’s
how to get straight a’s 2
how to overcome failure
how to study effectively
how to study as a busy student
how to study when you don’t want to
how to utilise your studyblr
how to do well in a class taught by a crappy teacher
improve your handwriting
improve your life
5 easy productivity tips
7 productivity tips
productivity 101
the no bullshit guide to getting your shit together
4 tips for delivering a perfect presentation
a self care masterpost to help you get through school
school cheat sheet
back to school
back to school advice
habits of successful students
search google like a pro
useful things for those going back 2 school
6 things people don’t always tell you about studying
effective note taking
memory tips
my 3 steps in studying
memorisation tips for different types of learners
random study tips
study habits
study methods
study smarter
study tips
strategies for writing good conclusions
things not to do when studying
tips + tricks for learning a language
types of study breaks for every situation
unconventional study tips
when to use
work smarter, not harder
four rules for a disciplined life
self discipline tips
self soothing techniques
small gestures of self-love
tips on how to get up earlier if you aren’t a morning person
This is what I didn’t know I was waiting for.
PRO TIP: instead of thinking “i should be healthier/more organized/etc,” change your phrasing to “i’d like to become healthier” or “i’d like to learn to be more organized.” stop paralyzing urself with guilt for what you aren’t & start focusing on what you can be