QUID ME NUTRUIT ME DESTRUIT

Koiby🌼

I spent the last couple hours compiling this list. It is by no means the entirety of trans women/trans feminine folks on Bandcamp, it’s just the ones I could find. Reblog it, add to it, buy their music. Lich Witch House/IDM

Jane Doe and the Misery Loves Co Folk Punk

Ashby and the Oceanns Folk/Punk/Indie

Bella Trout Folk/Punk/Indie

Little Waist Punk/Pop Punk

Hazagussa Black Metal/Noise Metal

Lyskoi - Alyssa Kai Folk/Folk Punk   -Do not know for sure how Alyssa identifies, but there’s a good chance that Alyssa fits here.

Calliope Wong Instrumental/Classical/Electronic/Noise

Venus Selenite Spoken Word

Stars on a Bedroom’s Wall Tremendously Varied

Trrtle Nation Experimental Electro Noise

Ellie Rose Instrumental Synthpop

Skeletor Rising Electronic Harsh Noise

Hot Noisy Mess Electronic Harsh Noise/Experimental

Mya Byrne Folk/Americana

Pain Wife Electronic Harsh Noise/Death Industrial

Bog Witch Doom Noise/Noise Metal

Virtual Intelligence Cyber-Goth/Industrial/Neon Metal

Through Waves World Fusion/Darkwave

Ellah a Thaun Lyrical Dissonance

Toxic Delirium Gutter Punk/Noise Grunge

HIRS Speedcore/Thrash/Grind

Noize Pervertz Harsh Noise

pinkclaws Ambient Electropop

Wet Dress Punk

Noel'le Longhaul Experimental/Folk/Indie

Mallory Folk/Folk Punk

Knight of Swords Gothic Rock

Listen Lady Indie/Punk

blacksquares Alternative/Electro Pop

Cate Wurtz Lo-Fi Electronic

Lauren Bousfield Electronic

Dingo Experimental/Ambient Arcane Electronic

Computer Vs World Chiptune Synthpop/Electronic

Svetlana Synthpop/Chiptune

She/Her/Hers Folk Punk

hopeinthestatic Lo-fi Folk Punk

hearken ambient drone/glitch/punk

Violent Pastels Crossover Thrash

Mean Girls Screamo/Emo/Pop Punk

Recurse Witch House/Ambient/Industrial

Hoity~Toity Old-School Pop Punk/Punk

a glass box Punk/Emo/Grunge

Tall Girl Metal/Basement Punk/Grunge

CRISSY BELL Art Rock/Goth Pop

Infantile Dissention Anarcho-Punk/Crust Punk

White Mascara Anarcho Post-Punk

Bümflap Feminist Loser Punk

CLOACA https://cloacapunx.bandcamp.com noise rock, hardcore punk

ALGOLAGNIST https://algolagnist.bandcamp.com/ drone, dark ambient, tape music, industrial

VEKTROID https://vektroid.bandcamp.com/ vaporwave, electronic, ambient

Laurence Berg, Canada Research Chair for Human Rights, Diversity and Identity, disagrees with the idea that PC language and policies are oppressive. Why? Because he doesn’t really believe that PC policies existed in the first place.

“What [they]’re calling the ‘PC movement’ I would call a social movement by marginalised people and the people who support them,” he said. “[A movement] to use language that’s more correct—not ‘politically correct’—that more accurately represents reality.”

Berg is referring to a way of thinking that many of us students were too young to catch the first time around. For us, the term ‘politically correct’ survived the 90s, but the term ‘human rights backlash’ did not. Will Hutton, former editor-in-chief for the UK publication the Observer, described in his column how the term ‘PC’ was never really a political stance at all, contrary to popular belief. It was actually perceived by many as a right-wing tactic to dismiss—or backlash against—left-leaning social change. Mock the trivial aspects of human rights politics, like its changing language, and you’ll succeed in obscuring the issue altogether.

 Berg believes this is what political correctness is all about: “The term politically correct is a reactionary term,” he said. “[It was] created by people who were worried by [social] changes…that affected their everyday understanding of the world in ways that pointed out their role in creating or reproducing dominance and subordination.”

According to Berg, the indignation people feel against PC ideas reflects the discomfort we feel when language and politics begin to pull away from the dominant values we grew up with—in other words, white, middle-class values. It’s no small coincidence that the concept of political correctness originated in the 80s and 90s, just after human rights concerns and visible minority groups started getting real attention in politics and the media.

For my friends on tumblr, in case you guys want something to watch, here’s a quick list of anime series/movies with unusual/unique art styles that you may or may not know.

Kaiba

With an artstyle reminiscent of the original Astro Boy, Kaiba has a very simplistic (yet stylized) and fluid style of animation and art. The story revolves around the titular character, who wakes up with a hole in his chest with no idea of who he is. I enjoyed this a lot for the art, music and characters, who all have realistic motivations and ideals, as well as the themes handled in it; such as what defines “being human” when bodies and memories are as disposable as plastic. Genre: Sci-Fi, Psychological Drama

Redline

In terms of sheer action and excitement I got from watching a movie, I’ve got to say that Redline is one of the best ever in those departments. With a highly stylized comic-book-esque art style with a high influence from Western comics like Dick Tracy (with the emphasis on black shadows on solid colours and thick black outlines), this show is extremely fluidly animated, the movie is said to consist of 120 000 hand-drawn frames, taking seven years to complete. The movie follows the story of racer JP (aka “Sweet” JP, because of his refusal to use weaponry while racing) trying to win (and survive) the titular Redline, a race consisting of multiple racers from multiple different galaxies and planets. Genre: Racing, Sci-Fi, Action

Mononoke

Every frame of this anime could be screencapped and slapped onto someone’s dashboard for their aesthetic. That is how distinct the art style and character design of this show is. The show uses a form of “plaid animation”, where something will be animated over a still color or object as it moves, creating most of the time a jarring effect that is usually the sign of a lazy animator, however in Mononoke, the show utilizes the art to create a sense of a surreal, dream-like environment, intentionally focusing on the jarring effect. The art and design of the environment is also extremely ornate and beautiful. The show focuses on the story of the unknown Medicine Seller and his travels through Japan (in an unknown time period), killing spirits and creatures known as Mononoke. However, he cannot do so until he learns their Form, Truth and Reasoning/Regret, which leads to some very interesting lessons at the end of each story. Genre: Mystery, Horror

Dead Leaves

Another comic-influenced movie, and just barely under an hour too; Dead Leaves is an extremely fun, hyper-action-packed movie with amazing character design (almost EVERY good character in this movie has a unique design, barring the civilains and generic bad guy cannon fodder), driven by slapstick, humor (usually of the sexual kind) and more pop culture references than you can digest within the time span they’re thrown at you. The story focuses on criminals Retro and Pandy; Retro having a TV instead of a head, and Pandy having a panda-like marking on her eye, who, shortly after waking up on the moon and causing havoc on a nearby planet, are imprisoned in a super-jail. Genre: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi

Kuuchuu Buranko / Welcome to Irabu’s Office

Combining rotoscoped 3D, 2D animation and live action elements, Kuuchuu Buranko is an extremely surreal look into the world of psychiatry. The art and designs were created by the lead artist of Mononoke, Kenji Nakamura. But whereas Mononoke had some subtlety/ to its art, this show is bright, colourful and neon as all hell. The show focuses on Dr. Ichiro Irabu and how he helps his patients with their problems, who are all connected in some way or the other. Genre: Comedy, Psychological Drama

The Tatami Galaxy

With a bright visual style that also manages to be subtle at the same time, The Tatami Galaxy also utilizes not just its art as a device for story telling, but the form of the show itself to convey its messages. I can’t spoil too much about the show, but I can give you this: if you enjoy the first episode, please watch it to completion, as this show basically requires the viewer to watch the show in its entirety. The story focuses on an unnamed protagonist, commonly referred to as Watashi by the show’s fans, who tries to attain the “rose-tinted” college life style he has desired for his whole life, as well as all the challenges he faces on the way. With fast-paced dialogue, a lot of humor, interesting character and background designs, as well as the various forms of “characterization”, and also the themes tackled by this show, I’d say it’s one of my favorite shows of all time. Genre: Slice of Life, Comedy, Drama, Psychological, Sci-Fi

I plan to add more to this list once I get around to them.

Mind Game

Mind Game. Directed by Masaaki Yuasa (also the director behind The Tatami Galaxy, Kaiba and Ping-Pong). I don’t think words can do this movie justice, but I’ll try. Imagine a combination of 3D-morphing-into-2D, sketches, animated photo images of (presumably) the voice actor’s for talking, extremely smooth and fluid movement, plus an insane amount of exaggeration,all coupled with a huge range of bright and dark colours and you’ve got Mind Game’s animation style down somewhat. Go look up more GIFs, they’ll help you understand the range of styles this surreal (and extremely fun) movie goes through. The plot follows Nishi, a down-on-his-luck, 20-years-old manga writer, running into his childhood crush Myon. He discovers she’s getting married soon while they’re talking inside her father’s restaurant. After that (plus another key event), the craziness in the movie begins; Nishi having a new-found desire to live life. Genre: Comedy, Surrealism, 

Tekkonkinkreet

Tekkonkinkreet, although similar in appearance to some Masaaki Yuasa works, was not made by the man himself (although, it was made by the company, Studio 4°C, that helped produce Mind Game). This movie has incredibly detailed backgrounds, similar to a Studio Ghibli film, with amazing usage of lighting, camera shots and motion blur as well as a wide variety of colours and shades. The story follows Black and White, two street orphans who call themselves “The Cats”, trying to keep control of their town from dangerous enemies. Although vastly different in personalities, they support each other emotionally, mentally and physically very well. Genre: Action, Drama, Adventure

The Diary of Tortov Riddle

The responses are direct, gentle, and very good.  It has sections for family, friends, coworkers, and self.

Please read it, please spread the link, please keep this link around as reference.  Everyone needs to see this.  It is very important that we arm ourselves that we may be better able to address the casual hateful speech many of us are likely to encounter.

One of the most effective tools at our disposal is protecting the area around us, and making sure that things like this said within earshot of us will not go unchallenged.

Asking non-judgmental questions geared towards reflective critical thinking can help someone else examine their thought processes, and may lead them to some self-discovery. I.E: upon analysis of their own thoughts and beliefs, they may come to question their own biases. 

It had instructions on how to make it look like there were a lot more people agreeing with you than there actually were, in order to make it seem as if the fight was already over and the website was only safe for white supremacists and fascists; on how to shut down dissenters of the new status quo, usually with spam or key phrases like the ones you mentioned; how to become a moderation staff member and who to target and how from there. 

I’m not saying at all that they invented any of this chatter, that would be patently ridiculous. But I do think this activity had a huge effect on how it’s become a lot more common on the internet and especially with the sub-30 crowd. Stormfront has made no secret about how they’ve taken over 4chan, for example, which was the breeding ground and organization point for the “alt-right.” They didn’t just implement the rhetoric there, they taught it to others memetically. 

4chan has a userbase that goes disturbingly young in many cases, so the kids that thought it was fresh six or seven years ago are young adults now. And those that were young adults then are now comfortably situated and camping out in more mainstream venues with these fringe ideas and fringe talking points, and from YouTube comment fields and Twitter diatribes and so on you see those Stormfront techniques passed knowingly or unknowingly to a much wider audience, who are willing to readily accept it as just how things are. 

*blink*

Here’s a copy-paste of what appears to be the rules used by SWARMfront to propagandize

Character Ideas:

Character creation masterpost

Character Alignment Chart

More character alignment descriptions

Muslim Character questions

Characters with magical powers

Building a new character advice

How to create a character for an online or tabletop RPG (also a good guide on creating characters in general)

Royalty/nobility TV Tropes page

Basic character profile

OC masterpost

Random character generators - (1), (2), (3), (4)

D&D Character Building Tool

Character Design Ideas:

How clothing affects a character’s personality

Character Design Inspiration blog

Concept art, fan art, cool art to be inspired by

Character design references and inspiration

Sources for POC character design ideas and models

Create your own character model using HeroForge

For horned characters

Body and hair types guide

Random outfit generator

Naming Help:

Amazing site with an endless amount of naming resources

General advice on avoiding naming appropriation

Hispanic Surnames

Gothic Victorian names

Huge master list for character things in general

Masterlist of names of all types - including but not limited to ancient/old world names, Celtic, African, Northern European, Southern and Central American Native names, Japanese, Chinese, Mongolian, Polynesian, and more

Another name masterlist

How to pick a character name guide

Yet another names masterlist

Creating Background/backstory:

Character Sheet/Development Sheet

Another character development list

In-depth character personality, motivations and traits sheet

320 talents and passions for characters

On writing likes and dislikes that aren’t frivolous

Why you should write non-human characters non-conforming to the gender binary

Stereotypes, tropes, and archetypes

Random backstory generator

Assassin and thief character tropes to avoid

Character Interactions and putting your character into your world/story:

Comparing character height/height references

Characters who are scientists and writing about them doing science

Describing what different voices sound like

Describing skin tones

Writing friendship interactions that are platonic

Why having one character knock their friend unconscious to prevent them from doing something is a bad idea

Advice on shipping OCs with canon characters and what to avoid doing

Sweet Polly Oliver and Sweet on Polly Oliver situations (think of Disney’s Mulan for an example)

How to write multiple viewpoints/juggling a main cast of more than 4 to 6 characters

How to make readers care about your morally gray hero/anti-hero

On platonic OC and canon character relationships

How to avoid Godmodding in RPs

When it’s cheap to kill off a character

Writing dialogue

Things you shouldn’t do to canon characters

Avoiding purple prose in writing and RPs

Slang resources

Dialogue tips

Websites to chart your story/plot/character relationships

This is something my professor taught me. When in a large demonstration, you need to keep an eye on not just the public, but also your fellow demonstrators as well. Cops have a tendency to sneak into both.

Keep an eye on the people recording whatever demonstration you’re in, because there is a strong chance that person is an undercover cop. That person is looking for anyone, ANYONE that they can profile for when they start doing arrests. This is why you want to cover your face and blend in with the crowd. When you notice someone recording, do NOT look at the camera; it might well be an invitation for the cops to single you out. If this happens, you WILL be arrested if/when a disturbance occurs.

This leads me to your fellow demonstrators. Cops can (and have) snuck in and blended into those crowds too. Their aim is to actually START the trouble that will justify the arrests that will occur later. There are only a few telltale signs, so keep an eye out for:

1- Black sneakers

2- backpacks

3- covered faces

These undercover cops will wait for the right moment to strike. When you see an unusual amount of recorders, that’s a sign that shit’s about to go down. You’ll usually have a few seconds to react. The moment you see some of your fellow demonstrators go for garbage cans or heading towards windows, DO NOT FOLLOW THEM. Keep your cool. The instant you see someone start breaking windows, do NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, JOIN IN. Run. Get as far away from the ruckus as possible.

The undercover cops are baiting you and yours in that moment. At the very least, they’ll discredit whatever peaceful protest you may have been engaging in at the time. At most, they’ll bait a large number of protestors into becoming violent, leading to many arrests, just like they wanted.

Remember that the press is NOT your friend. They aren’t there for the truth, they are there for a story. If you talk to them, you do so at your own risk. Never give your real name. Conceal your face at all times. Wear NOTHING that makes you stand out or recognizable.

1- Plead the fifth. Anything you say can and will be used against you.

2- The cops are NOT your friends. As far as they care, you’re guilty. Every question they ask you is designed to get a confession of guilt out of you, one way or another. Do not let your guard down with them.

3- Any question they ask you must be answered with “I want my lawyer.” No exceptions. They ask you for your name, say “I want my lawyer.” INSIST ON THAT LAWYER.

4- Make sure you actually get a good lawyer. In fact, a good lawyer is a good friend to have.

5- UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES DO YOU TALK TO COPS!!!! Seriously, I can never stress that enough.

Hey guys, looks like its story time… I’m going to vent to you guys about something that just happened to me today, and hopefully you guys can reblog it so that we as artists, can try to avoid this from happening in the future.

For the last month or so I’ve been working on a freelance project for a woman who plans on running a blog about going to College. Throughout this process, I’ve worked with her step by step, going through designs, drafts, re-drafts and etc. After turning in the final design yesterday and being in agreement that the design was good, and that payment should be finalized; she sent me an email stating this: 

“I ran the design by a couple of people affiliated with by blog, and I am going to have to ask you to redo it.  It’s just not what we were looking for.  I’m not a design person at all and I wanted it done, so I settled on it. But this has to be done right”

Settled. 

“Okay, fine” I thought. Sometimes things don’t work out, and designs need to be redone. I was fine with this, and I have absolutely no problem working with a client to make sure that they’re happy; but something about her wording stuck a chord…. She settled. And for reference: THIS is what she said yesterday- BEFORE the email today stating: “This has to be done right” 

FUN FACT: I had gone in a completely different direction before coming up with the design I sent yesterday, but after HOURS of working on it and checking in with her (with her telling me she loved the way it looked) –

–I was asked to redo it.

She told me to redo it. A DAY BEFORE IT WAS DUE.  Which I did (The design I turned in yesterday). But I digress..

I continued reading through the email: 

“If you are not able or willing to take this on, then we can just cut our ties here.  If you would like to finish the project in a time sensitive manner and be paid the other 50$ and be featured, then please get me a new design by today.” 

At this point, I’d been working with her for a little over a month, (I’m a full-time student, and I work the maximum number of hours that I’m allowed to work on campus, on top of that I’m the president of an animation organization on campus, so suffice to say, I’m busy) and she had a deadline for the project, so there was a part of me that could understand her urgency. We had decided on $100. Half up front and half after I had finished. But now something else had stuck with me: “Please get me a new design by today”

What? Are you kidding me? a NEW design? We had been working together for over a month, and I had worked based on what she wanted, and now she wanted a COMPLETELY new design by the end of the day. A day, I might add that I don’t have free because I have work and then other school-related obligations that I need to fulfill… That would mean sketches to generate more ideas, having to confer with her on the design, THEN actually implementing the design, and having to clean it all up, with 1.) No direction (because the way I designed it previously was obviously all wrong), and 2.) By the end of the day.

This had to be done right, and after all of that working and reworking, I was STILL looking to try to be as helpful and professional as possible. So of course,  I was considering starting from scratch and coming up with a THIRD finalized design, until I read the rest of the email… HERE’S THE KICKER: I can’t even make this shit up. 

“A few things to keep in mind. 1.  I am a professional.  I’m an adult, this is my business.  I want it clean, simple and streamlined”.

In my head I thought: “You’re joking. You’re going to tell me these things like I’m a child? First of all, I may be a student, but I’m a working adult, I take care of my schoolwork, I pay rent, I pay a car note, I’m ENGAGED, AND take care of a pet Ferret. Beyond that, not only have I worked on this project with you step, by step, but I’ve done COUNTLESS drafts and ON TOP OF THAT, you’ve told me multiple times that the design is perfect for what you’re looking for”…

The email continued: 

“https://designschool.canva.com/blog/graphic-design-tips-non-designers/”

Are you fucking kidding me. This woman thought it was okay to send me: A designer; this “HELPFUL” link. About tips. FOR NON DESIGNERS. WHEN SHE HERSELF IS NOT A DESIGNER. After this I was LIVID. But I kept my composure and kept reading:

“Ask me questions, read the blog, treat me as if I’m a real client. Let me know your thoughts on this.” 

I almost couldn’t contain myself. For a month I’ve done sketches, layouts, and etc… I’d worked with you step by step, following her instructions for the design, FOR EACH ITERATION OF THE DESIGN and I had tailored each of my changes exactly to her specifications. Beyond that I’d read and re-read over the blog multiple times in an effort to come up with a design that would best display her intentions. I was so upset after reading her email that I literally just closed my phone and walked around for a few minutes to clear my head. 

After much consideration, I decided to do what she herself had suggested and cut our ties. And I did it in what I feel was the most respectful way that I could while still maintaining my dignity. I sent her a message stating that I’m sorry that things didn’t work out, but that I could tell that she clearly didn’t respect me as an artist, and that I thought it best if we didn’t continue working together. I wished her good luck in finding a designer that could suit her needs, and I went about my day. 

Although this situation didn’t end the way that I had expected it to when we began working together, I’ve learned some things, and I wanted to share my story with you all as a way to help raise awareness for things like this:

-VALUE YOUR ART.  -VALUE YOUR TIME.  -VALUE THE CLIENT BUT DO NOT LET THEM STEP ALL OVER YOU

There are non designers who will commission you and be happy that you created something for them, and there are those that will NEVER be satisfied with what you give them. See the warning signs and DO NOT work with people who are going to be difficult for the sake of being difficult.

 I’ve worked with more than a few people who don’t appreciate the amount of passion and hard work that goes into art, and it draining, frustrating and its just not worth it. 

Another thing that I learned is please please please DO NOT SELL YOURSELF SHORT. 

The project that I was working on wasn’t worth $100. And after the second draft it was even worth doing for $200. I understand being a student and needing money, but I’d rather work for free on something that I love than work for pennies on something that I hate. 

Don’t take a project just because it pays. AND PLEASE DO NOT TRY TO UNDERCUT YOURSELF BECAUSE YOU’RE A STUDENT OR BECAUSE YOU DON’T FEEL THAT YOU’RE A “PROFESSIONAL” YET. 

I have friends in the animation industry who STILL don’t feel like they’re necessarily “Professionals”

KNOW YOUR WORTH.  And never ever EVER Let anyone tell you what you’re worth. Especially if they don’t know or respect just how much work and time goes into making the beautiful things that you all make.

I think that’s about it. Thanks for putting up with yet another long rant about me trying to navigate my life as an artist!

(also… completely unrelated: If you’re an artist reading this, let me know! I’d love to follow you and I hope you do the same!)

1. Get everything in writing. A preliminary e-mail should specify the exact task and the scope of it, the agreed-upon budget, and the rough deadlines (which, by the way, the client will never stick to.) The important thing to make clear is that the client has already accepted your skills as their artist and to set professional boundaries, even if you don’t feel professional. It’s a contract of sorts for the people who don’t know how to draft contracts to protect themselves. Of course, it can still all go to hell like above, but in this case the artist even had approvals of their designs in writing as evidence. And that’s a good thing!

2. The way you get paid is negotiable. Sometimes it’s 50/50 (half up front, half upon completion), sometimes it’s divided based on the number of steps (so if I’m doing a comic I get paid in installments after a draft, after the inking, and after the final product is approved.) But there are two really important things about the way you get paid to avoid the situation that happened above. A cancellation fee, and a revision charge. 

For small projects like this one, where the client is personally in control of the project, a cancellation fee can be a little tricky because individuals can be annoying about it. I usually have cancellation fees if my client is a third party and I’m not dealing directly with them, because that way if it falls through on their end I get paid by the middle-man anyway. This varies on how big your client is and your own method of working.

But for small projects like this one, where the client is personally involved and temperamental, a revision charge is necessary. This is what I usually do: You get one draft and one - five revision(s), depending on the project. After the draft is approved (and this is why I like to get paid after a draft, because it cements the approval), extra changes will cost you x amount. What this does is it makes the client realise their mood swings will cost them money, and so when they ask for a revision they make sure it’s what they really want. It also saves a lot of time because in my experience it’s not just a major rehaul that’s exhausting and unrealistic but constant tiny changes every single day (e-mails at 2 am asking you if you could change the font color, and then after you do, asking you to change it back.) You can set the type of revision and charge according to the project, but the important thing is that the client knows that extra revisions will cost them and so they’ll be more thoughtful about it. Also, a timeframe for revisions is important! This should be specified in the first e-mail timeline, for ex: “creating a layout takes 4 - 5 days” so therefore if a revision demands a new layout, you need another 4 - 5 days. No “we need this tonight!!!” nonsense. Alternatively, you can charge extra for working overtime, if you’re forced to do it overnight because they disrupted the schedule/timeline.

3. Never ever ever ever ever send a final project until you get paid. Specify that in the initial email. If you’re sending artwork for approval, send a low-resolution version that can’t be used for work or watermark the crap out of it. Otherwise you won’t get paid on time, or you won’t get paid at all. People are the worst. 

Hi there! I would love to! I think I’ll start out with an example with filter words and then cut out the filter words to show you the difference.

For those of you who haven’t seen my post on Filter Words.

Now, for the example:

I felt a hand tap my shoulder as I realized I had made a huge mistake. I knew the consequences would be unsettling, but I had no other choice. I saw the light of my desk lamp bounce off of the officer’s badge before I had even turned around. It seemed like I always found my way into trouble.

It was the first thing off the top of my head, so it’s a bit rough sounding….

Now for without filter words (And a bit of revision):

A hand tapped my shoulder as it dawned on me: I had just made a huge mistake. The consequences would be unsettling if I didn’t get out of this mess, but I had no other choice. The light of my desk lamp bounced off of the officer’s badge. I always found my way into trouble.

By taking out filter words, you get right to the point.

I’d also like to add a few more notes that I didn’t have the chance to post previously.

Some Examples of Filtering:

I heard a noise in the hallway.

She felt embarrassed when she tripped.

I saw a light bouncing through the trees.

I tasted the sour tang of raspberries bursting on my tongue.

He smelled his teammate’s BO wafting through the locker room.

She remembered dancing at his wedding.

I think people should be kinder to one another.

How can you apply this?

Read your work to see how many of these filtering words you might be leaning on. Microsoft Word has a great Find and Highlight feature that I love to use when I’m editing. See how you can get rid of these filtering words and take your sentences to the next level by making stronger word choices. Take the above examples, and see how they can be reworked.

FILTERING EXAMPLE: I heard a noise in the hallway.

DESCRIBE THE SOUND: Heels tapped a staccato rhythm in the hallway.

FILTERING EXAMPLE: She felt embarrassed after she tripped.

DESCRIBE WHAT THE FEELING LOOKS LIKE: Her cheeks flushed and her shoulders hunched after she tripped.

FILTERING EXAMPLE: I saw a light bouncing through the trees.

DESCRIBE THE SIGHT: A light bounced through the trees.

FILTERING EXAMPLE: I tasted the sour tang of raspberries bursting on my tongue.

DESCRIBE THE TASTE: The sour tang of raspberries burst on my tongue.

FILTERING EXAMPLE: He smelled his teammate’s BO wafting through the locker room.

DESCRIBE THE SMELL: His teammate’s BO wafted through the locker room.

FILTERING EXAMPLE: She remembered dancing at his wedding.

DESCRIBE THE MEMORY: She had danced at his wedding.

FILTERING EXAMPLE: I think people should be kinder to one another.

DESCRIBE THE THOUGHT: People should be kinder to one another.

See what a difference it makes when you get rid of the filter? It’s simply not necessary to use them. By ditching them, you avoid “telling,” your voice is more active, and your pacing is helped along.

The above list is not comprehensive as there are many examples of filtering words. The idea is to be aware of the concept so that you can recognize instances of it happening in your work. Be aware of where you want to place the energy and power in your sentences. Let your observations flow through your characters with immediacy.

Ok, sorry for the lengthy answer, I know you just wanted an example…. sorry!