Stuff to think about

I'm trying to really get back into horror writing and finish off some older short stories, so I made a writing blog to upload some of my works.

here is a master list of great art tools that can make your workflow easier! 👇 (consistently updating)

Conan The Barbarian by Robin Recht

French artist has drawn comics of Conan, known in the US under Cimmerian.

Meet the Northern Bald Ibis. They are currently critically endangered, with only 500 left in the wild. Local legend claims this is the first bird Noah released off the arc. While unverified, that religious sentiment allowed them to survive in Turkey while they perished in Europe.

by Josephine Kreischer

1. The FBI's Famous Cases & Criminals archive (fbi.gov/history/famous-cases) has detailed breakdowns of real fraud cases, Ponzi schemes, and confidence operations. The language they use is clinical and precise, which is perfect for getting the procedural details right.

2. The FTC Consumer Sentinel Network publishes annual reports on the most common fraud tactics in the US. Great for understanding how modern scams actually work and what makes people fall for them.

3. The Smithsonian's American Art Museum has a free digital collection of forgery case studies. If your character forges documents or art, this is gold.

4. Court Listener (courtlistener.com) is a free legal database where you can read actual court transcripts from fraud trials. Want to know how a real con artist talks under oath? This is where you find out.

5. The Internet Archive's collection of old newspaper crime sections. Search for "confidence man" or "swindle" in papers from the 1920s through 1960s and you'll find incredible real stories that would feel too dramatic for fiction.

Bonus: The Psychology of Fraud section on the Association for Psychological Science website has accessible articles about why people trust, how deception works cognitively, and what makes someone a convincing liar. Essential reading if you want your con artist characters to feel psychologically real.