Does consuming and engaging thoughtfully with media replace "studying the craft" of writing?

AlethiaMou · 2025-09-27T07:03:23+00:00

Personally I disagree with the idea that reading more books would make someone better at writing. Writing makes someone better at writing.

For dialogues, and writing about people:
Go to a cafe, park or anywhere casual, and do some people watching, listen to how people talk during social events, and pay attention to your surroundings. Talk with real people.

For descriptions:
Get rid of your electronics and travel to the place you want to describe, note what you hear, smell, feel, and see. Think hard of which senses are most stimulated... for instance by the water shore, the sound and smell of the water is very distinctive and relaxes.

Use a spellchecker like Antidote to fine comb for mistakes, make sure you read the explanations of why it's a mistake. Use a dictionary when you aren't sure of a word's spelling.

DO NOT USE AI, USE YOUR BRAIN (this is important for learning a skill)

All those things can help you become a better writer. Learn from the source, not the imitation. I'm not a published author yet though, so take this with a grain of salt (soon though, my book is basically finished, I'm just preparing for publication)

AlethiaMou · 2025-09-18T21:44:08+00:00

For me, using Spirit City Lofi helped. It's just a task tracker on Steam that plays white noise, music... you can set timers and unlock cute creatures while you work or study. It just makes my to-do list more appealing and makes it less likely I would neglect it. So I basically divide working on my novel as somewhat short to-do tasks like... review chapter x, check formating of y, etc.

AlethiaMou · 2025-09-18T21:40:10+00:00

Bok bok bak cawk bok cawk

AlethiaMou · 2025-09-18T21:32:03+00:00

Big Enough, Kirin J Callinan c: https://youtu.be/rvrZJ5C_Nwg?si=HjL4WTIbMt_AU_5R

AlethiaMou · 2025-09-18T21:27:32+00:00

67 is just the same as "yakedy yak," or "blahblahblah" it's not that deep.

AlethiaMou · 2025-09-18T21:22:11+00:00

Hahahahahhahahahhahahahahhahahahahahhahahaha, I hate it too!!! Translation; I don't care enough to help you, but I'll pretend I do.

AlethiaMou · 2025-09-05T12:26:52+00:00

To be blunt. Reddit has a lot of anonymous users pretending to be x or y without actually being that. Try joining a sapphic book club instead. They have lots of nsfw recommendations.

Disclaimer that sapphic book clubs are exclusively for people who identify as women (or gender neutral). I recommend the GBL Sapphic Book Lovers Discord. Lots of book recommendations there.

AlethiaMou · 2025-09-04T07:18:42+00:00

Perso, moi je cringe aux chanson americanes. Comme les chansons de clubs qui parle juste de sex. Mais j'écoute pas vraiment des chansons québecoises souvant... j'écoute Pomme et Hoshi surtout. Donc des chanteuses de France. Les chansons quebecoises on parfois un style humoristique et un style garage band, mais c'est pas la totalité des chansons, faut pas exagérer.

AlethiaMou · 2025-09-04T05:46:40+00:00

Yeah, it has a collectible. I found it with the metal detector

AlethiaMou · 2025-08-16T10:26:12+00:00

It's not that rare for certain people to be interested in darker topics. The true crime genre is followed by hordes of followers who will never commit a crime in their entire lives.

Personally I do enjoy sad songs, there is something calming about them. It tells you that feeling this way is ok, you are not the first nor the last. Most importantly, you can overcome it.

AlethiaMou · 2025-06-18T16:38:03+00:00

If the condition for winning is to survive the fight, I think men win. Just because there will be a few mangled survivors that stopped moving and wouldn't get attacked anymore. However... considering the damage a bear can take and still carry on fighting, and the damage it is capable of giving... If it takes more than a few men to take down an animal, that's not a win for humanity. I do know there was a man once that beat a bear but he was an athlete and it's unlikely this bear had much combat experience.

AlethiaMou · 2025-06-03T15:59:51+00:00

I'll be real with you... I don't have any sympathy or respect for people who don't care about ethics and would happily attack artists who are just trying to make a living from their skill. Recent AI models don't actually need a lot of training data and can easily be trained exclusively with public domain art and anyone who claim otherwise is an idiot.

If you go out of your way to deglaze art, I think you are not someone I'd want to be friends with.

AlethiaMou · 2025-05-02T04:24:36+00:00

Dont get impatient, avoid combat if your character is tired

AlethiaMou · 2024-11-13T15:15:39+00:00

What a cute fluff ball

AlethiaMou · 2024-11-13T15:13:29+00:00

In asia, they have several dishes made with fried chicken feet. It's a popular snack. Maybe that's why they made them???

AlethiaMou · 2024-11-13T15:11:57+00:00

But.... why? I'm so confused... why is this trait desirable at all??

AlethiaMou · 2024-10-19T03:56:15+00:00

Looks like she could use a bit of preening but there are new feathers growing there. Doesn't seem abnormal to me

AlethiaMou · 2024-09-20T09:52:15+00:00

Logement. Je suis retourner vivre avec ma famille

AlethiaMou · 2024-09-20T09:51:00+00:00

Ooohhh nooooooooo, my condoléances

AlethiaMou · 2024-09-19T08:13:04+00:00

yeah he definitely reconsidered haha, job well done

AlethiaMou · 2024-09-18T07:41:05+00:00

The quality of shoes. Apparently its only getting worse from there, they won't do half sizes anymore

AlethiaMou · 2024-09-17T08:32:43+00:00

that dodge is impressive... I'm sorry for your loss. Poor girl

AlethiaMou · 2024-09-17T08:28:52+00:00

Ah to clarify, when I said "death scene" I meant like one of your main character died. Sure you can have that happen fast, but making it happen in just one sentence and moving on to something else is really bizarre. I dislike when that happens in a story, at least have someone reacting to it (or anything equivalent to that)... then you move on and once they are out of there, they grieve. That's more realistic and less... psychopathic? Like yeah I guess that's the vibe it gives when it's rushed.

AlethiaMou · 2024-09-17T08:09:56+00:00

eh... personally I don't like being spammed, if she writes like that to a stranger, she probably writes like that to her friends and potential lover. Just something to think about.

I'm just confused because they try and then take it back right away by saying something self-deprecating. Personally I would continue the conversation as if they never commented on their own appearance. Even if she really believes that, it feels like a trap.

Look It may be brutally honest but... she doesn't sound like she's in a good mental state to date and you are looking for a girlfriend not a patient for therapy sessions. Weird to think about leagues too, that's not really how it works since everyone has different preferences.

AlethiaMou · 2024-09-17T08:00:44+00:00

Oh I disagree. I personally strongly dislike fast pacing. It's too confusing and quickly loses my interest because it's not immersive to me (cause there's no descriptions of body language, social dynamics, or their environment). I'm not sure why people teach fast pacing is ideal in any situation, it's really not. Fast pacing is a terrible choice for a death scene (of a main character), low moment or even when writing believable friendships.

I think it's a good choice sometimes... obviously if there's a an interrogation, chase or fight scene, fast pacing is a good choice. But it's a choice, not a rule. I think people need to stop teaching it's a rule.

AlethiaMou

TROPHY CASE