thoughtfultrashthings

[thoughtfultrashthings]

[thoughtfultrashthings]

being in my 20s is like I understand more of my mother and less than i ever have. My childhood friends are strangers to me and there’s no one i know better. i want to drink wine. i never stopped wanting to climb trees. i know more than I’ve ever known before. I don’t know anything at all. i’m seven years old and sixteen and twenty nine and seventy. I can’t tell when i'm happy. I think the only thing that will make me happy is to be little again. i want to be really old. i go to the ocean and feel like nothing matters more than that. in my bedroom everything matters so much. I go to the grocery store every day. i know how to cook a lot of things but the only thing i know how to eat is fried eggs. I can take care of myself but i want to be taken care of. i want to go home and I don't know where that is. i think it may be somewhere inside of me but i’m not sure

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Otters will forever be the most dramatic creatures on the planet🦦

[thoughtfultrashthings]

Taiwan Butterfly Koi

#💕 #koi #beautiful

[thoughtfultrashthings]

[thoughtfultrashthings]

(X)

[thoughtfultrashthings]

#this this this #truth

[thoughtfultrashthings]

I love writing with other people.

I love sharing my writing. I love reading my friends’ writing. I love working with people towards shared goals: finishing books, finishing chapters, writing 1,000 words in an hour.

In the past I’ve written in workshops in high school and college, with friends, and with perfect strangers on NaNoWriMo.

Right now, I’m in an MA program, writing with people who like the same sorts of books as me, who have the same goals as me. We have weekly workshops in class and support each other outside of class. Being in the group has made me more productive, more confident, and infinitely improved my writing. 

If I could give anyone just one piece of writing advice, I’d say this: find people to write with. Right now. 

WHY JOIN A WRITING GROUP

Motivation. Sometimes it’s nice to have someone ask “written anything new yet?” Having someone waiting to read your work is a nice external pressure to keep you writing consistently. Especially if you set up a firm schedule of sharing and discussing each others’ work.

Advice catered to you. If you’re not sure your dialogue is working or if your chapters are in the right order or if your love interest is cute enough, a second opinion is the best help. Second readers will see flaws in your writing that you can’t see on your own, they can help you through problems you can’t solve by yourself, and give you new and wonderful ideas for your story. 

Reading unpolished writing. The books you buy in stores have gone through countless rounds of edits. The errors that remain are usually issues of subjectivity. Amateur mistakes don’t exist in them. Reading work that’s still a little rough, and reflects your own mistakes back at you, and can teach you more about writing than you know. For me, it is the most useful aspect of workshopping.

Having someone to talk to. Sometimes, it’s just nice to have people to talk to about writing. You can get book recommendations, share book recommendations. Talk to each other about writing processes. Vent about storylines that just aren’t coming together.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A WRITING GROUP

When I was looking at grad schools, my advisors wanted me to apply to MFAs in America. I ended up at an MA in England. It’s not a terminal degree. It isn’t fully funded. But I knew it’d be the place for me. Why? Because I’d had enough experience with writing groups to know what I needed in a writing community. What should you look for in a writing group? Basically, you want three things:

People who like what you write. In my last year of undergrad, I submitted a piece of YA writing to a short story class. I got a comment back that said, “this is a cliche, but I guess you could get away with it in a YA piece.” Others would say things like, “it’s pretty good for a YA piece.” It felt like they were saying, “your genre is a genre of bad writing, so I’m not going to hold your work to a high standard.” Not only was it insulting, but the feedback didn’t feel valuable. They didn’t care if I made my piece better, because they were never going to like it anyway. You want a writing group that loves your work, and genuinely wants to see it succeed, who want to see you succeed.

People who are as dedicated as you are. Once, my friends and I decided to try NaNoWriMo together. The first week, there were six of us. By the third, there were only two. It happens all of the time. There’s a difference between wanting to write a novel and needing to write a novel. You want a writing group full of people who need to write novels. I was the only one in my group to actually finish my story. A month after the deadline. And I’m sure I would’ve been able to do it on time if my friends had stayed with me along the way. Make sure you have a writing group that will be there to help you towards your goal. 

People you like and respect. This may seem obvious, but being friends with (or just friendly with) people outside of your writing is really important. Sharing your writing is a deeply personal experience. You want people who like you enough to be both honest and kind when discussing your writing. Otherwise, the experience with be awful. If you’re in a group and you realise that you don’t like the people you’re with, it’s always okay to politely leave the group and look for better people to share your work with. 

WHERE TO FIND A WRITING GROUP

Your local university/community college. Take a writing class. I promise you you’ll meet at least one other person you’d like to continue working with after it ends.

Your local independent bookstore/cafe. Even if they don’t host groups, put up a flyer. These places are where writers congregate. You’re bound to find a few people who are interested.

The NaNoWriMo Forums. Camp NaNoWriMo automatically adds people to your “cabin,” so it’s an even quicker way of finding people to write with.

The Fix Your Writing Habits Writing Buddy page. That’s a tumblr blog! You don’t even have to leave this website! Edit: you might, from now on they’re updating the buddy list here. 

Reddit. You can find people looking to share their work in subreddits like  /r/YAwriter and  /r/Writing (/r/writing has a weekly critique thread).

Make a Tumblr post and tag it with things like #writing group and #critique partners. Tell people who you are and what you write. You can even search those tags yourself and find people who’ve already started the search

SO NOW YOU’RE IN A WRITING GROUP

Steph and Stacey’s Critiquing Cheat Sheet

Writing Group Starter Kit

Starting a Critique Group

How to Start a Critique Group

Ten Questions to Ask A Friend Who Just Read Your Novel

If you’re scared about going into the wilds of the internet, send me a message and I’ll help you out. Writing books is difficult. Sharing books is difficult. We could all use some support. 

Pictured: The Bloomsbury Group 

[thoughtfultrashthings]

talysketch on Instagram

[thoughtfultrashthings]

i’ve been so into food videos lately.... they’re all like "ten quick and easy deserts you can make at home 😋😍" and then 30 seconds in on the first one they go ok so now take out your blowtorch,

[thoughtfultrashthings]

was anyone else 14 on the internet thinking they were a millennial in the mid 2010s. I’d see posts about the housing market and be like so true I can’t afford a house

[thoughtfultrashthings]

Folks, friends, y’all…. esk*mo is a slur. I understand a lot of people don’t know that, I don’t want to be a dick about it, but I’ve been seeing it in fics. Wanna write “esk*mo kisses”? Just say “nuzzled noses” or something.

I’m not here to call anybody out, it’s been in multiple fics, I’m not vague posting. This is just a psa. 👍🏻

[thoughtfultrashthings]

BEKKATHYST END OF SUMMER 2021 GIVEAWAY

~This giveaway is in no way affiliated with Tumblr.~

Please read thoroughly before entering!

Hello lovely Tumblr folk! It’s that time again- I have a giveaway for you all. I thought I'd have a little end-of-summer celebration 💜

We have both an online store and a physical location that could use your support!

My business is a small, family run establishment that I started here on tumblr in 2013. I’ve been lucky enough to grow to the point where my husband and I opened a brick and mortar store and I’ve been able to employ my mother and several of my siblings! I’ve been supporting my mom and younger siblings since 2016 💜 I’ve always put compassion and ethics above all else in my business!

This giveaway will have two winners.

What the first winner receives:

The large assortment of crystals & the altar cloth pictured above! There are 21 crystals in total. The full retail value is about $480

A $100 gift card that can be used for our online store or tumblr sales!

What the second winner receives:

A $50 gift card that can be used for our online store or tumblr sales!

Rules:

You must be 16 or older. (If under 18 you MUST have parent’s permission)

You don’t have to live in the US to join!

Shipping is entirely free, I will cover it. But if you live outside the US and for whatever reasons your country wants to charge you import tax, you are responsible for it. If it gets sent back to me, you will need to pay shipping to have it sent again.

You must be following me, so you can get updates if anything about the giveaway changes.

Please check out our online shop!

DO NOT tag this post as giveaway. That will risk the notes getting messed up, and this will be ruined for everyone.

Reblog this post to enter. Likes count as additional entries. No giveaway or spam blogs. If you reblog on a side blog, let me know in the tags what the name of your blog is that you’re following me with.

Please don’t spam people with reblogs- limit 2 reblogs per blog per day.  

At the end, each entry will be assigned a number and the winner will be chosen by a random number generator.

The giveaway ends Monday, September 27th, 2021 at 6 pm Pacific time.

The winners will be messaged and must respond with their full name and address within 24 hours, or a new winner will be chosen.

Please respect me and my rules, and have fun!

[thoughtfultrashthings]

BEKKATHYST END OF SUMMER 2021 GIVEAWAY

~This giveaway is in no way affiliated with Tumblr.~

Please read thoroughly before entering!

Hello lovely Tumblr folk! It’s that time again- I have a giveaway for you all. I thought I'd have a little end-of-summer celebration 💜

We have both an online store and a physical location that could use your support!

My business is a small, family run establishment that I started here on tumblr in 2013. I’ve been lucky enough to grow to the point where my husband and I opened a brick and mortar store and I’ve been able to employ my mother and several of my siblings! I’ve been supporting my mom and younger siblings since 2016 💜 I’ve always put compassion and ethics above all else in my business!

This giveaway will have two winners.

What the first winner receives:

The large assortment of crystals & the altar cloth pictured above! There are 21 crystals in total. The full retail value is about $480

A $100 gift card that can be used for our online store or tumblr sales!

What the second winner receives:

A $50 gift card that can be used for our online store or tumblr sales!

Rules:

You must be 16 or older. (If under 18 you MUST have parent’s permission)

You don’t have to live in the US to join!

Shipping is entirely free, I will cover it. But if you live outside the US and for whatever reasons your country wants to charge you import tax, you are responsible for it. If it gets sent back to me, you will need to pay shipping to have it sent again.

You must be following me, so you can get updates if anything about the giveaway changes.

Please check out our online shop!

DO NOT tag this post as giveaway. That will risk the notes getting messed up, and this will be ruined for everyone.

Reblog this post to enter. Likes count as additional entries. No giveaway or spam blogs. If you reblog on a side blog, let me know in the tags what the name of your blog is that you’re following me with.

Please don’t spam people with reblogs- limit 2 reblogs per blog per day.  

At the end, each entry will be assigned a number and the winner will be chosen by a random number generator.

The giveaway ends Monday, September 27th, 2021 at 6 pm Pacific time.

The winners will be messaged and must respond with their full name and address within 24 hours, or a new winner will be chosen.

Please respect me and my rules, and have fun!

[thoughtfultrashthings]

Your wife changes her hair color every season and her personality adjusts slightly. You’re secretly only in love with Autumn wife. She just came home sporting her Winter color.

[thoughtfultrashthings]

It's so hard to remember this sometiems

Not everything happens for a reason. Some things happen purely because evil exists in the world. That did not happen to you because you deserved it. It didn’t happen to you because you needed to learn a lesson. There are lessons you can learn without experiencing pain.

#truth #quotes

[thoughtfultrashthings]

#poetry #quotes