#tip 1

Tip 1

Mini Calendar

Yes mini calendars! The thing about them is you can put them in a monthly, weekly or daily spread. A to-do list spread, a project spread, most spreads really. You can cross of days, circle special occasions without worrying about space, highlight the week you have or anything else! You can decorate them too!

Here's a step-by-step to make the one I use:

The calendar should take up about 5 lines down and be about 4 or 5 centimetres across.

You don't have to draw lines, you could make light guides if you need to.

Write "S" for Sunday or "M" for Monday at the top left line. Next to that write the next day of the week. If you did Sunday first the next letter would be "M" for Monday and if you did Monday first then the next letter would be "T" for Tuesday. Keep going for all seven days of the week.

Under that write down the date. For example June 2021 would have 1 under "T" for Tuesday and 2 for "W" for Wednesday and so on.

Keep them in a straight line down.

Decorate / label it if you want to.

I have been studying all kinds of advice and tips on writing (books, websites and blogs) over the last few years, so I thought I would share this with you. This is a summary of tips about writing first chapters I find the most helpful.

The first chapter contains:

The basic setting

The point of view

Introduction of the protagonist

The goal of the protagonist 

The voice

The mood and tone of the story

The beginning needs to have a reason to be the beginning 

Introduction of the main character's daily life

A sense of something missing or out of place in the main character's life

Highlight what's special about the main character

Foreshadows what the conflict will be about / teases the plot of the story so the readers can decide if it's for them or not

But also leaves questions that will have the reader wondering what will happen next in concrete

The protagonist in action doing and wanting something, not sitting and thinking. 

Basically = character, conflict and setting

Sorry for the delay broskis, didn’t mean ta leave yah hangin’ after my introduction hahah, had a mad busy mornin’ but now I get to spend teh rest of the day with you cool brotato-chips <3

Oh, and feel free to slide some Q’s my way, broskis. There might just be a pop quiz, yo <3

Dig a hole. Just dig a hole in your yard

Digging is a physical activity. It's instant visual progress, there's no limit on how long you have to dig and you can come back to it whenever. It can be fairly strenuous or fairly mild but getting your blood moving is a huge help in making depression better. It's unconventional and yet a deep human instinct is fulfilled when you dig a hole.

Fun variations:

Get a pick and hack away with it, freeze large ice chunks and take them outside, secure them in the dirt, and hack them apart. Bonus point for listening to diggy diggy hole.

Make a den for your dogs. Mine is a joint effort with my dogs and is now a quite spacious three bedroom apartment. Dogs are also mental health boosters.

Have a friend bury bones or treasure (in a chest or not) and excavate. This one is inspired by an archeologist's pains during covid.

Thrift a claw tool and pretend you're an animal or monster or something (no, this is not pro furry)

~I’m fangirling so hard right now, the animation is flawless!!!!

One of the things I’m most inspired by is this one anime call FLCL: Progressive. I’m in love with this whole anime. The animation style, the plot, the voice acting, everything about this anime just give me that real good feeling in my gut that makes me think, “This... this is what I want to do. I want to make something as beautiful and as radical as this anime but better”. I want to animate, I want to voice act, I want to make some truly radical art that tells a unique story.

Try to watch what you eat today!