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OMG these are so awesome

#4 is definitely going to be used by me daily.

My mom actually taught #7 to me as a kid lol

General Tips

Joss Whedon’s Top 10 Writing Tips

Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone

34 Writing Tips that will make you a Better Writer

50 Free resources that will improve your writing skills

5 ways to get out of the comfort zone and become a stronger writer

10 ways to avoid Writing Insecurity

The Writer’s Guide to Overcoming Insecurity

The Difference Between Good Writers and Bad Writers

You’re Not Hemingway - Developing Your Own Style

7 Ways to use Brain Science to Hook Readers and Reel them In

8 Short Story Tips from Kurt Vonnegut

How to Show, Not Tell

5 Essential Story Ingredients

How to Write Fiction that grabs your readers from page one

Why research is important in writing

Make Your Reader Root for Your Main Character

Writing Ergonomics (Staying Comfortable Whilst Writing)

The Importance of Body Language

Character Development

10 days of Character Building

Name Generators

Name Playground

Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test

Seven Common Character Types

Handling a Cast of Thousands Part 1 - Getting To Know Your Characters

Web Resources for Developing Characters

Building Fictional Characters

Fiction Writer’s Character Chart

Character Building Workshop

Tips for Characterization

Character Chart for Fiction Writers

Villains are people too but…

How to Write a Character Bible

Character Development Exercises

All Your Characters Talk the Same - And They’re Not A Hivemind!

Medieval Names Archive

Sympathy Without Saintliness

Family Echo (Family Tree Maker)

Behind The Name

100 Character Development Questions for Writers

Aether’s Character Development Worksheet

The 12 Common Archetypes

Six Types of Courageous Characters

Kazza’s List of Character Secrets - Part 1, Part 2

Creating Believable Characters With Personality

Body Language Cheat Sheet

Creating Fictional Characters Series

Three Ways to Avoid Lazy Character Description

7 Rules for Picking Names for Fictional Characters

Character Development Questionnaire

How to Create Fictional Characters

Character Name Resources

Character Development Template

Character Development Through Hobbies

Character Flaws List

10 Questions for Creating Believable Characters

Ari’s Archetype Series

How to Craft Compelling Characters

List of 200 Character Traits

Writing Characters of the Opposite Sex

Making Your Characters Likable

Do you really know your characters?

Character Development: Virtues

Character Development: Vices

Character Morality Alignment

List of Negative Personality Traits

List of Positive Personality Traits

List of Emotions - Positive

List of Emotions - Negative

Loon’s Character Development Series - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Phobia List A-L (Part 1), M-Z (Part 2)

30 Day In Depth Character Development Meme

Words for Emotions based on Severity

Eight Bad Characters

High Level Description of the Sixteen Personality Types

Female Characters

How Not to Write Female Characters

Writing Female Characters

How to write empowering female characters

Why I write strong female characters

Red Flags for Female Characters Written by Men

Writing strong female characters

The Female Character Flowchart

Eight Heroine Archetypes

Male Characters

Eight Hero Archetypes

Tips for Specific Characters

Writing A Vampire

Writing Pansexual Characters

Writing Characters on the Police Force

Writing Drunk Characters

Writing A Manipulative Character

Writing A Friends With Benefits Relationship

Writing A Natural Born Leader

Writing A Flirtatious Character

Writing A Nice Character

Fiction Writing Exercises for Creating Villains

Five Traits to Contribute to an Epic Villain

Writing Villains that Rock

Writing British Characters

How To Write A Character With A Baby

On Assassin Characters

Dialogue

It’s Not What They Say…

Top 8 Tips for Writing Dialogue

Speaking of Dialogue

The Great Said Debate

He Said, She Said, Who Said What?

How to Write Dialogue Unique to Your Characters

Writing Dialogue: Go for Realistic, Not Real-Life

Point of View

Establishing The Right Point of View

How to Start Writing in the Third Person

The I Problem

Plot, Conflict, Structure and Outline

Writing A Novel Using the Snowflake Method

Effectively Outlining Your Novel

Conflict and Character Within Story Structure

Outlining Your Plot

Ideas, Plots and Using the Premise Sheets

How To Write A Novel

Creating Conflict and Sustaining Suspense

Plunge Right In…Into Your Story, That Is

Tips for Creating a Compelling Plot

36 (plus one) Dramatic Situations

The Evil Overlord Devises A Plot: Excerpt from Stupid Plot Tricks

Conflict Test

What is Conflict?

Monomyth

The Hero’s Journey: Summary of Steps

Outline Your Novel in Thirty Minutes

Plotting Without Fears

Novel Outlining 101

Writing The Perfect Scene

One-Page Plotting

The Great Swampy Middle

How Can You Know What Belongs In Your Book?

Create A Plot Outline in 8 Easy Steps

How to Organize and Develop Ideas for Your Novel

Create Structure in your novel using index cards

Choosing the best outline method for you

Hatch’s Plot Bank

Setting & Worldbuilding

Magical Word Builder’s Guide

I Love The End Of The World

World Building 101

The Art of Description: Eight Tips to Help Bring Your Settings to Life

Creating the Perfect Setting - Part 1

Creating a Believable World

Setting

Character and Setting Interactions

Maps Workshop - Developing the Fictional World Through Mapping

World Builders Project

How To Create Fantasy Worlds

Creating Fantasy and Science Fiction Worlds

Creativity Boosters* denotes prompts

*Creative Writing Prompts

*Ink Provoking

*Story Starter

*Story Spinner

*Story Kitchen

*Language is a Virus

*The Dabbling Mum

Quick Story Idea Generator

Solve Your Problems By Simply Saying Them Out Loud

Busting Your Writing Rut

Creative Acceleration: 11 Tips To Engineer A Productive Flow

Writing Inspiration, Or Sex on a Bicycle

The Seven Major Beginner Mistakes

Complete Your First Book with these 9 Simple Writing Habits

Free Association, Active Imagination, Twilight Imaging

Random Book Title Generator

Finishing Your Novel

Story Starters & Idea Generators

Words to Use More Often

Revision & Grammar

How To Rewrite

Editing Recipe

Cliche Finder

Revising Your Novel: Read What You’ve Written

Writing 101: Revising A Novel

20 Common Grammar Mistakes That (Almost) Everyone Makes

Synonyms for the Most Commonly Used Words of the English Language

Grammar Urban Legends

Tools & Software

Tip Of My Tongue - Find the word you’re looking for

Write or Die - Stay motivated

Stay Focused - Tool for Chrome, lock yourself out of distracting websites

My Writing Nook - Online Text Editor, Free

Bubbl.us - Online Mind Map Application, Free

Family Echo - Online Family Tree Maker, Free

Freemind - Mind Map Application; Free; Windows, Mac, Linux, Portable

Xmind - Mind Map Application; Free; Windows, Mac, Linux, Portable

Liquid Story Binder - Novel Organization and Writing Application; free trial, $45.95; Windows, Portable

Scrivener - Novel Organization and Writing Application; free trial, $39.95; Mac

SuperNotecard - Novel Organization and Writing Application; free trial, $29; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable

yWriter - Novel Organization and Writing Application; free; Windows, Linux, portable

JDarkRoom - Minimalist Text Editing Application; free; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable

AutoRealm - Map Creation Application; free; Windows, Linux with Wine

Specific Help

Fashion Terminology

All About Kissing

Genre Help: Romance

187 Mental Illnesses

Types of Mental Illness

Eye Color List

8 subtle backgrounds. made from patterns

Download (mediafire)

Background Images

1 AM // 1 PM - joint playlists that are appropriate for staying in or staying up

1 AM 

// scar tissue - the red hot chili peppers // everybody’s watching me (uh oh) - the neighbourhood // hannah hunt - vampire weekend // chloroform - phoenix // tessellate - alt-j // honey jars - bryan john appleby // house of cards - radiohead // i cant make you love me - bon iver // patient love - passenger // breezeblocks - alt-j // ruby - foster the people // run into flowers - m83 //

1 PM

// safe and sound - capital cities // do you want it all - two door cinema club // chocolate - the 1975 // pompeii - bastille // everlasting arms - vampire weekend // life on the nickel - foster the people // awkward - sancisco // time wont let me go - the bravery // fluorescent adolescent - arctic monkeys // i got - young the giant // ivy and gold - bombay bicycle club // lonely boy - the black keys //

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

I’m a big fan of film scores, and every year or so I get a bee up my bonnet to share my favorite tracks from my collection. So! Here’s 2012’s list, handily categorized according to the mood you might want to evoke. Enjoy!

FUN/JOY

WALL-E — Thomas Newman (WALL-E)

Forbidden Friendship — John Powell (How to Train Your Dragon)

Dead Already — Thomas Newman (American Beauty)

Discombobulate — Hans Zimmer (Sherlock Holmes)

Possibility — Thomas Newman (Pay it Forward)

First Date — Thomas Newman (WALL-E)

To the Stars — Randy Edelman (Dragonheart)

ROMANTIC

Juliette is Happy — Niall Byrne (Cairo Time)

Your Hands are Cold — Jean-Yves Thibaudet (Pride & Prejudice)

Latika’s Theme — AR Rahman/Suzanne D’Mello(Slumdog Millionaire)

The Sacrifice — Michael Nyman (The Piano)

Define Dancing — Thomas Newman (WALL-E)

Lovers - Flower Garden — Kathleen Battle/Shigeru Umebayashi (House of Flying Daggers)

Married Life — Michael Giacchino (Up)

Together We Will Live Forever — Clint Mansell (The Fountain)

HAUNTING

Iguazu — Gustavo Santaolalla (Babel/Deadwood)

Anne Dreams of Her Childhood — Trevor Morris (The Tudors)

Justin Calls Iris — Jeff Beal (Carnivale)

Ghosts — Thomas Newman (Road to Perdition)

While Waiting — Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)

Song for Jesse — Nick Cave/Warren Ellis (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford)

Pruit Igoe & Prophecies — The Philip Glass Ensemble (Watchmen)

Revenge — James Horner (Legends of the Fall)

TRAGIC

Life and Death — Michael Giacchino (Lost)

Any Other Name — Thomas Newman (American Beauty)

Tarr and Irina — Alberto Iglesias (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)

Ashokan Farewell — Jay Ungar/cover by Doc and The Lady (Ken Burns’ Civil War)

His Name was Michael — Jeff Beal (Carnivale)

More Prays — Trevor Morris (The Tudors)

Valley of the Shadow — Thomas Newman (Little Women)

Elysium — Hans Zimmer/Lisa Gerrard (Gladiator)

Brooks Was Here — Thomas Newman (Shawshank Redemption)

Syriana — Alexandre Desplat (Syriana)

MELLOW

George Smiley — Alberto Iglesias (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)

The Ludlows — James Horner (Legends of the Fall)

Theme for the Diving Bell and the Butterfly — Paul Cantelon (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)

Melville’s Grand Armada — Brian Keane (Into the Deep: America, Whaling & the World)

The Grey Havens — Howard Shore (Return of the King)

We Don’t Have to Think Like That Anymore — Cliff Martinez (Solaris)

The Artifact & The Living — Michael Andrews (Donnie Darko)

Panoramic — Atticus Ross (The Book of Eli)

Time — Hans Zimmer (Inception)

EXCITING

Romani Holiday (Antonius Remix) — Hans Zimmer (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows)

Chant — Hans Zimmer (Black Hawk Down)

The Way of the Sword — Hans Zimmer (The Last Samurai)

Agent of Chaos — Hans Zimmer/James Newton Howard (The Dark Knight)

Molossus — Hans Zimmer/James Newton Howard (Batman Begins)

Mombasa — Hans Zimmer (Inception)

WALL-E’s Pod Adventure — Thomas Newman (WALL-E)

Those We Don’t Speak Of — James Newton Howard (The Village)

Psychological Recovery … 6 Months [2] — Hans Zimmer (Sherlock Holmes)

EPIC

The End of All Things — Howard Shore (The Return of the King)

Roll Tide — Hans Zimmer (Crimson Tide)

Isengard Unleashed — Howard Shore (The Two Towers)

Kaneda’s Death, Pt. 2 — John Murphy (Sunshine/Kick Ass/The Walking Dead)

Death is the Road to Awe — Clint Mansell (The Fountain)

The Battle of Kerak — Harry Gregson-Williams (Kingdom of Heaven)

Mind Heist — Zack Hemsey (Inception Trailer)

Helm’s Deep — Howard Shore (The Two Towers)

… AND ROLL CREDITS

So Was Red — Thomas Newman (Shawshank Redemption)

That Next Place — Thomas Newman (Meet Joe Black)

Under the Stars — Hans Zimmer (The Lion King)

The Great Work Begins — Thomas Newman (Angels in America)

Road to Perdition — Thomas Newman (Road to Perdition)

The Battle is Not Over — Jeff Beal (Carnivale)

Now We Are Free — Hans Zimmer/Lisa Gerrard (Gladiator)

The Return of the King — Howard Shore (The Return of the King)

Guide to Self-Studying Japanese

A large proportion of Japanese learners self-study. Finding places to learn Japanese in a classroom environment can be difficult and expensive. Here’s a guide on how you can learn Japanese for free and from the comfort of your sofa.

When learning Japanese, the most important step is to learn Hiragana and Katakana, the writing alphabets of Japanese.

The best way I’ve found to do that is to make flashcards. Make sure you practice writing as well as recognizing them, this will not only be a great skill to have but will also reinforce the shapes in your mind.

Resources:

[Hiragana 42], the best guide I’ve found to learn the Hiragana (in a day!) [Hiranana and Katakana Quiz Site] [Kana Invaders Game] [Anki] An amazing program that will make sure you never forget any Vocabulary….

The next step is to start learning vocabulary. Where can you find what to learn? Use a site like Memrise to find word lists (for example, there is a word list for all the vocabulary in starter textbooks like Genki), and use the amazing interface to learn them and keep them in your long term memory.

Resources:

[Memrise] as mentioned above to find and learn vocabulary lists. [Most Common Words List] [Anki] An amazing program that will make sure you never forget any Kanji….

While encountering vocabulary, you’re likely to be coming across super-complicated-looking Kanji. You can learn Kanji through Memrise as above, but there are some other websites that may be of interest.

Resources:

[Kanji Damage] A great site where you can learn Kanji through Mnemonics.[WaniKani] by the same people ho make TextFugu (below) can help you learn Kanji from scratch. [Anki] An amazing program that will make sure you never forget any Kanji….

The next step is to apply that new vocabulary to grammar points and start making sentences.

If you can’t get your hands on textbooks like Genki, don’t fear! There are a lot of great online grammar resources.

Resources:

[TextFugu] a highly rated ‘online textbook’ which will guide you right from the beginning of learning Japanese. [Guide to Japanese] another online textbook with a lot of grammar points and excellent explanations.

The Fun Parts: Using Japanese Online Media

So you probably have learnt Japanese because you have some interest in Japanese media. Time to start using it to your learning advantage!

Aside from the obvious watching Anime, J-dramas and films, why not try Reading Japanese News? Watching Japanese TV? Just make sure you are making these activities productive - note down new vocabulary, add them to Anki, and keep learning! It’s much easier to learn things you’re interested in. Try translating Japanese songs, etc.

The most important but difficult part of self-studying Japanese is getting your own compositions checked. Utilize all that grammar and vocabulary and write a short piece, it could be a diary entry or a short essay. Get it recorded for you by a native on RhinoSpike, and checked for grammar and consistencies on Lang-8.These sites also give you the chance to connect with Japanese natives, and perhaps start up some language exchanges!

For more resources, take a look at my Ultimate Resources List

lang-8.com is well known amongst intermediate/advanced language learners who are self-taught, but I thought I’d explain it for beginners. It is an amazingly useful site where you can blog or upload any text you’ve written in the language you’re learning. Many people use it as a diary, though I’ve seen people check essays and business emails there too.

Once the text is uploaded native speakers of the language will check it for you. You return the favour by checking pieces of work written in your native language and correcting them. In this way everyone gets their work marked by a native speaker (often more than one person contributes so you can get several opinions too).

Red - passion, blood, anger, fire (for example)

Yes. It comes from the Hunter-Gatherer days.

Women were the gatherers. They had to be able to discern between the different shades of colors to know which plants were poisonous and which were not.

Men were out hunting, so they didn’t have to worry about that.

rainystripe:

jisuk:

아리가또고자이마스 - This title literally reads as ‘Arigato Gozaimasu,’ and is apparently what Koreans think Japanese music sounds like. Give it a listen, you won’t regret it.

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

MY TEARS

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

LOLOLOLOLOL

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

HONTO NI ARIGATOUUUU

LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

ARIGATO GOZAIMAZUUUU

SUMIMASEN SUMIMASEN SUMIMASEN SUMIMASEN 

This is quality.