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“Instead of changing your habits to keep clean, look at where the clutter is. Now put a bin under it.”

I tend to remove my socks at the computer and then there’s a mountain of socks on the floor? I put a small bin and now it looks tidy. There are piles of junk mail on the table near my front door because I can never bring them to the recycling bin? I put a smaller recycling bin there. Etc etc.

Another trick that helps me immensely are BOXES.

The bathroom sink is covered in small bottles and all sorts of products? I got small plastic crates and I put them over the toilet lid, one for my stuff, the other for my roomate’s. The linen closet is just piles of things that fall when you open the door? Baby I just got a bunch of baskets and I will separate them by function.

I have baskets and small boyxes for: my cleaning products; my bird’s toys and stuff; my workout accessories; my meds and daily skincare products; my tools; and pretty much all my art stuff. 

One change, and my floors are clear. And because they’re clear, they’re easier to keep clean.

Strong Winds Causing This Waterfall To

Can Come Up with Good Characters, But Not Plot

Characters and setting can be much easier to come up with than plot--so, no, this isn't the universe telling you not to be a writer. This is a thing a lot of writers struggle with. ♥

Stories have two types of conflict: internal and external...

When the story revolves around internal conflict, you have a character-driven story, where something's going on in the protagonist’s heart and mind, so they must formulate a goal in an attempt to resolve that thing.

When the story revolves around an external conflict, you have a plot-driven story, where something happens in the protagonist's external world and they must formulate a goal in an attempt to resolve that thing.

Literary fiction tends to be character-driven. Mainstream driven tends to be a combination of both plot and character-driven, with a lean toward plot-driven.

So... one of the first things you want to do is look at your character, their ordinary life, and the world they live in and ask yourself whether there's an interesting internal conflict here? Like, is this character stuck in a rut? Is their marriage about to end? Do they have some dream they're ready to chase? Do they have some internal belief they want to change or some question they need answered?

Alternatively (or maybe in addition to...) take a look at this world and ask yourself whether there's any obvious external conflict that could be going on. Maybe the company they work for is about to have some sort of big shake up? Maybe there's a disastrous weather event heading toward the town? Maybe your character just got a job researching viruses, so the worst thing that could happen to them is some virus starts turning people into flying zombies.

In other words, when you're stuck for a plot and you can't find an obvious internal or external conflict, sometimes the best question you can ask yourself is, "What is the worst thing that could happen to this character?" A lot of times, the answer is going to give you your plot.

I hope that helps get you unstuck, but here are some other posts that might also help! ♥

Want to Write but Can’t Come Up with a Plot Finding a Story in Characters and Setting Finding a Plot to Go with Characters/Setting Where to Find Story Ideas Coming Up with Ideas and Plot

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this post is all about how to process emotions that we are uncomfortable with, safely and positively. Today, I’d like it if you’d try to implement at least one technique today!

REMINDERS

Remember that when you feel an emotion, it is your body communicating itself to you. Listen to your emotion, and understand.

All emotions are temporary, and will pass. But some can leave a more long term effect on us.

Having the skill of sitting through uncomfortable emotions calmly, and not let it impact our lives greatly will serve you well.

TECHNIQUES

STOP TECHNIQUE

S- Stop what you’re doing, pause all activities and shut off your brain.

T- Take a few deep breathes, continue until your focus is only on breathing deeply.

O- Observe your thoughts, your body language, any physical sensations and acknowledge them within you.

P- Proceed with any activity that may help you process this emotion. Meditation, journaling, stretching, talking to someone, etc.

ALL TECHNIQUE

A- Acknowledge, accept and alllow what you feel. Identify what emotion you feel, if you can’t, try to associate it with something. Sit in this feeling for awhile and truly accept it within you.

L- Link it to a circumstance or situation that may explain why you’re feeling this way. E.g ‘I feel so irritated lately, it may be because I’ve been eating sugary foods more’

L- Learn what this emotion may be telling you. There’s not much detail on this because only you know what your body needs/wants.

SELF EXPRESSION

"Remember when they told us every computer was going to crash on 1/1/01 and there would be chaos and then nothing happened?"

What we do in the shadows - 4x08

Oh, this? This is the 2000 masterpiece Titan A.E., the master animator Don Bluth's bold venture into the world of Science Fiction. Boasting script treatments by the increasingly-famous Joss Whedon and the voice talents of Matt Damon, Drew Barrymore, Bill Pullman, and Nathan Lane (among others), it was also one of the first forays of a fresh new sub-studio at Fox called Blue Sky Studios!

It boasted a terrifying premise of a future where alien invaders not only overwhelmed, but physically destroyed the entire Planet Earth--dramatically depicted in a trailer that ran before every single screening of 1999's Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Boldly fusing 2D animation with 3D ships, environments, aliens, and camerawork, it was a tremendous fresh step in the world of animated cinema. Creed's "Higher" was the theme song for the trailers and TV spots.