Everything I draw ends up wearing a bow-tie

Anonymous asked: Any tips on dealing with tendonitis? I have it now and it suuucks

there are many exercise guides for various types floating about online, but you know what? the best advice is to go see a specialist- a physio if you can, or at least a GP to give you a good idea/refer you to one because the thing is tendonitis comes in SO MANY DIFFERENT FLAVOURS OH BOY. one of the reasons the type I had this time was so Weird was it wasn’t carpel tunnel or wrist related! it was like. my whole lower forearm and in particular this one lil bugger that helps you turn your hand over- so I had to do different exercises to the kind that I was using the time I got bad tendonitis three years ago!

I can say the basics- rest, stretch within a comfortable range, stop whenever something starts to hurt, but the best thing you can do is Go Get Help from a person who knows wtf is up :Tb good luck and yes. it sucks. so bad.

alphagodith

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Important thing about stories!

…but why tho? why can you not write about something suggested to you?

sorry if I didn’t explain that well enough but there’s a few reasons-

1) if a writer uses something that someone can later claim was their idea, it raises all sorts of legal problems, and ain’t nobody want to deal with that. Professional story writers have a hell of a time AVOIDING this and it really is a hazard of the occupation

2) if someone suggests an idea, some writers (myself guiltily included) feel stubborn and don’t want to make it when the joy of coming up with stories is half of the reward of making them in the first place. it also just feels like the story isn’t yours- being commissioned is different, and likewise if you do that sort of writing for a living, it erases point one altogether.

3) if someone suggests an idea that is very like one you had in mind, but haven’t been able to get around to making yet, it makes you feel unoriginal and slow, and the ‘new’ version suggested can interfere with the vision you had, which makes things feel muddy and conflicted

basically, writing is complicated, it’s very personal and legally it can be a nightmare to deal with who came up with what without carefully signed and documented evidence. That said, not everyone is the same- so!

Basically, the best thing you can do is ASK if you can send an idea to the writer: if the person you want to send your idea to says yes, then go for it! If they say no, please respect their decision! Don’t be sad or stubborn, and please keep in mind that if they respond in the negative it is very likely not because they aren’t interested in your cool idea or hate you, it’s because of all the above complications (and probably more besides!)

tarantinofan asked: How would you got about writing a healthy, fluffy, passionate (both emotionally and physically), romantic couple???

Ohh, big question- and as ever I’m not sure how to answer nor do I feel particularly well qualified to do so, but I think the thing I focus on (and find most attractive in ships) is humour and respect. Allow them to be silly! Being in love makes you silly- don’t think it all has to be serious monologues and big gestures. Love can be unexpected, and the unexpected can make you laugh! It’s a reflex, to cope with the shock of it. How often have we seen the scene where one character does something silly, but basic, human, just a little slip, and we see the other character watching them laugh to themselves and then do the “…Oh.” reaction, because that’s when they realise they’re in love? It’s a trope, sure, but it moves us because it contains truth.

Respect simply means checking in; allowing each other to have enough space and say in decisions, to stop when asked to stop, and to ask before you start. All this really comes from the standpoint that I can’t really enjoy a couple unless I see them as being friends- I write ships as friends! There, I said it! That’s all it is! It might be a reluctant friendship sometimes, but if there is tension, sadness, or angst caught up in the mix, it doesn’t stem from negative emotions- it’s from a desire to create happiness in some way, or a desire for a happiness that ‘simply can’t happen’. Two people love each other, but don’t want to ruin a friendship by admitting it, so never tell one another = Sad, but from a positive place. I love him but going out with me would cause a rift between him and his family? Sad, but from a positive place. I love them but know they are going to have to leave, and causing that pain from separation would be cruel = SAD, but from a positive place! 

Whether your couple has a happily ever after or not, having the emotions and motions of the characters originating from the desire to care for, understand, and make each other happy, will help create a healthy and interesting dynamic. That’s basically what I do, I think? But it’s hard to write about writing, I’m not very good at thinking about how I do it, I just sort of… do it.

EDIT: Touching! Someone reminded me I didn’t cover the physical deal- and while this varies depending on the personalities a little bit, honestly? Just. Let people touch each other. Don’t make a big deal about it- have them lean on each other from time to time, fall asleep on each other, brush something out of the other’s hair, or just heckin clamber over the other person to get the remote instead of asking them for it. Casual, funny, affectionate, not-related-to-sexual-intimacy-at-all touching is lovely and shows a high level of comfort and trust around each other. Also, if you have two characters who have been or are ordinarily very touch starved? It makes it very personal and emotionally profound to have them accepting and enjoying little gestures and ‘meaningless’ pieces of physical interaction- sure, show a progression if you need to, going from slight surprise or even flinching at being touched to becoming entirely fine with it (or not- some things might never be okay, and in that case you show the love by having the other character learn this and respecting that boundary), but really having that little bit of friendly, playful, or so-comfortable-around-them-they-don’t-even-think-about-it contact is very nice to see and I feel is something that needs to be represented much more in media.

Anonymous asked: Hey there, I’m an artist who has completely lost their motivation. Do you have days like that and what do you do to find your motivation again?

YES I DO and sometimes it takes a day off- take some time to do something totally different to reset your brain, read some books, watch some movies, play some games- but sometimes the best solution is simply to work through it; pick up a pencil, and draw. it doesn’t matter what! it can be studies of things that you feel you’re weak at drawing, it can be simple geometric shapes, but just DO some drawings and then half the fight is over. Starting your work process is actually the hardest part, once you’ve climbed over that wall you can start boxing yourself into doing more and more ‘constructive’ work. Motivation is fickle, too, you can’t just sit around and wait for inspiration or expect it be there continuously- some days it pounces on you at 3am and won’t let go, but some days you have to hunt it down and beat it over the head with a stick before it’ll have anything to do with you! just keep your chin up, ask for help and support when you feel you need it, and goddamn remember to drink that tea before it goes cold.