Nina

This is not a war, this is a massacre Azerbaijan and Turkey are committing against the Armenian people.

Turkey’s president literally admitted that he wants to finish what his ancestors started. He wants to commit another genocide, and this time he wants to kill us all.

Writeblrs! Reblog with your font of choice for drafting?

Mine’s Horley Old Style. It’s just so round & elegant & easy to read….oh boy. I almost can’t tolerate writing in anything else.

Hi anon, I hope you’re doing great too!

I think by “sympathy readers”, you might mean “sensitivity readers”? 

Sensitivity Readers

I have no personal experience with sensitivity readers as of yet, just because I don’t have any work that I feel is ready enough, but I’ve researched them so I’ll know what to expect. 

What They Do

A sensitivity reader is similar to a beta reader in that they’ll go through your work and pinpoint errors, or anything that stands out as iffy. 

The main difference is that a sensitivity reader isn’t picking out grammar problems or continuity errors. Instead, they apply their life experience as a person from a particular background, and point out things that the writer might not necessarily fully understand.

This can be as simple and inoffensive as pointing out an error:

“You mention they added (ingredient) to this traditional dish, but doing that actually turns it into a different dish with another name.”

Or something as complicated and troubling as a whole-story issue:

“Main Character reads like a piece of cardboard with a real-world culture stapled awkwardly on top.”

It also goes without saying that sensitivity readers will also point out anything that sticks out as truly offensive, such as racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, etc.

A single sensitivity reader can’t tell you absolutely everything you need to make the perfect representation, and even people within the same group might have a different opinion on what is accurate or acceptable.

This is why it can help to have more than one sensitivity reader for the same aspect of the book – it’s not always feasible, but it can help provide more nuance. Ultimately it’s down to the writer to come to the final decision, but it’s better to be informed than ignorant, so they can navigate the issue with more care and kindness.

How to Find Them

As far as I’m aware, you’d find a sensitivity reader the same way you’d find a beta reader. Check Tumblr and Twitter for people advertising their services and shoot somebody a message, or make a post describing your work and outlining what kind of help you need.

The Issue of Payment

With traditional beta readers, payment is usually an exchange of work - “beta mine and I’ll beta yours” - but when it comes to sensitivity readers, the reader may not be a writer themselves, or may not be seeking a sensitivity read from somebody with your background.

This means that a sensitivity reader is more likely to be paid, with the negotiations surrounding the price and method of payment to take place before work begins. It might be a flat rate or based on word count, full payment up front or a 50% deposit. It all depends on the deal you strike.

However, some people do just trade. A sensitivity reader might have work they just want a beta reader for, and ask the writer to help in exchange for the sensitivity read. Maybe they want art of their characters, and the person seeking the sensitivity read can draw.

If the sensitivity reader is a close friend, they might offer it as a favour, but personally I feel like you’d at least owe them a good meal and a gift card, to show how much you appreciated their insight and effort.

Remember though, don’t try to negotiate a trade with somebody who tells you they want to be paid. If their rate is a bit steep for your budget, it’s better to work out a payment plan or thank them for their time and look elsewhere, rather than take money out of the equation entirely.

I hope this helped! Please let me know if you have any follow-up questions, and I’m happy for other folks to chime in on this post if they wanna add anything!

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My ask box is open! Do you need some writing advice? Is there a good book you just wanna scream about? Is there something interesting or fun you’d like to share? Throw it my way!

lightning, very hot fire

snow storms, ice, frost on crops

some types of fungus/mold

corpses, ghosts, bones, a diseased person

clothing, skin tone, hair, etc. of a bad person

fur, teeth, eyes of an attacking animal/monster

bleached out deserts, dead trees, lifeless places

poison

Some ideas for good things that are black/dark:

rich earth/soil

chocolate, truffles, wine, cooked meat

friendly animals/pets/creatures

a character’s favorite vehicle, technology, coat, etc.

a pleasant night

hair, skin tone, clothing, etc. of a good person

undisturbed water of a lake

the case/container of something important

valued wood, furniture, art

velvet

‘He was my everything’: Boy who drowned in Brookings pond remembered for smile, generosity

The body of Molu Zarpeleh, 10, who was reported missing last Thursday night, was recovered from a privately-owned retention pond along 12th Street South around 8:40 a.m. Friday after authorities searched the pond, according to a new release from the City of Brookings.

A tip that Zarpeleh had been pushed into the pond that circulated on social media has been redacted by the tipster, said Chelsea Bakken, public information officer for the City of Brookings. Investigators also reported that tips they received Friday related to circumstances surrounding the incident were not true but won’t state why. Police are ignoring it and ruling it an “accidental drowning but his mother says differently. 

“A 10-year-old boy would not just take his sandals off and walk into the water,” she said. “He didn’t know how to swim.”

Brookings police and the Brookings Fire Department searched for Zarpeleh until about 2:30 a.m. Friday before the search was stopped due to safety concerns, poor lighting and murky water, the release states. Searchers used pumps from Brookings Municipal Utilities and Brookings County to remove about 300,000 gallons of water from the pond during the resumed search Friday morning

“Molu died, but I can’t say ‘was’ yet,” Mole said. “He’s my first child. He’s my only son. I don’t want to use the word ‘was.’ I can’t imagine him not living.”

Source / Source / Source 

DONATE HERE (The local Lutheran Church in Brookings is giving all donations to the family)

Follow here for more news 

The Electoral College originally heavily favored Slave States, because the large slave populations contributed to electoral points, but obviously slaves could not vote, so voting whites in those states had more political power per vote.

many black women in the lesbian community have stated this but non black people continued to use the term until a lot of people will refuse to admit it is aave, and i do not aappericate people coming into my ask and trying to start a fight over this especially if you are not black.

Listen. To. Black. Lesbian. Women.

when they tell you something aave, black off. It’s a simple as that. Let black women, and the black community have their own terms stop trying to steal their stuff.

 –Samantha C. Tenorio,  Women-Loving Women: Queering Black Urban Space during the Harlem Renaissance

 Inspired by @lilquill and her post here.

So a lot of times on Tumblr, I hear the phrase, “Write stories with black characters, but don’t write stories about being black.” This seems like a good sentiment to follow until you start seeing characters who are basically white and the only thing that’s black about them is a throwaway line about their skin color. 

Both of these strategies have valid points, but the problem is they’re both misunderstood. 

When we say that we don’t want stories about being black, we mean that we don’t want stories about black suffering. We don’t want stories about living in neighborhoods with gangs and drugs. We don’t want stories about people getting shot and police brutality. 

I can’t even write those stories without help. I never grew up in that environment. I grew up in nice suburban houses where I never had to worry about being in danger (for the most part. There were some crazy people in West Virginia where I lived, but that’s an entirely different thing.)

When we say that we don’t want stories about being black, we don’t want writers to strip characters of their blackness. There are so many great things about black culture that can enrich your character and make good representation without being offensive. 

So without further ado, here are some things about being black that don’t include drugs, gangs, and police brutality. 

Disclaimer: When I say “black culture,” I mean Black American culture. I don’t know a thing about what it’s like to be African, Caribbean, or black in a European or Asian country. I’m also writing this from a mixed-race and multicultural standpoint since I really didn’t grow up in predominantly black communities. 

More will be under the cut.