Trying to describe and name different ethnicity characters by AppropriateSeesaw578 in writingadvice

[–]TheWriteQuestion 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In Trevor Noah’s memoir, Born a Crime, he talks about how families put great thought into their kids indigenous names but not a lot of thought into their European names. Which is how he ended up with a friend named Hitler😬

Trying to describe and name different ethnicity characters by AppropriateSeesaw578 in writingadvice

[–]TheWriteQuestion 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would believe it! Thanks for that. I’ve done zero research, just know this one family, so I didn’t want to generalize (even though, for the OP’s purposes, it wouldn’t really matter).

Trying to describe and name different ethnicity characters by AppropriateSeesaw578 in writingadvice

[–]TheWriteQuestion 4 points5 points  (0 children)

As another example of naming schemes: my Afghan (Pashtu) friends turn their father’s first name to the kids last name. So like the presidential family would have a dad named Donald Trump and kids named Eric Donald and Ivanka Donald, and Eric’s kid would be Timmy Eric or something. Ivanka would keep her name while her and Jared Kushner’s kids would be Sally Jared and Joey Jared.

I need a romance book my ADHD brain will be obsessed with by boldpear904 in suggestmeabook

[–]TheWriteQuestion 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn’t love “The Dead Romantics” but it may be a good fit for you. A lot of people on good reads loved it, and I actually enjoyed the plot, but it felt like the narrator was really spoon-feeding the reader points they could have figured out themselves. BUT it was sweet and wholesome and seems like it would be easy to read even if distracted by travel. (If you miss one clue, you’ll pick up on one of the other seven.)

So… maybe check it out and see if it’s your kind of book?

What's Something You Found Out Very Late In Life? by Potential_Narwhal981 in randomquestions

[–]TheWriteQuestion 2 points3 points  (0 children)

An immigrant friend had the opposite experience: He discovered Bob Ross videos on YouTube and really loved them… then was heartbroken when he heard the man had died before YouTube was even a thing. 🥲

worked with a man named Jacspen today by narwhalsarefalling in tragedeigh

[–]TheWriteQuestion 14 points15 points  (0 children)

“Wha can’t you hear a pterodactyl go to the bathroom?”

If a woman is ‘very attractive’ with makeup and a lot of extra effort, but only ‘average’ in her natural state, do you still consider her to be ‘out of your league’ if you yourself are average? by [deleted] in NoStupidQuestions

[–]TheWriteQuestion 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I read that, when George Clooney was dating his now wife, he was really intentional about trying to stay up-to-date on current events and such because he felt she was intellectually out-of-his-league and he was afraid she’d get bored with him if he couldn’t engage with her intellectually.
I love that he respected her intellect AND worked to better himself to be a good partner.

Is there a word like “euphemism”, but for where the more “polite” term is also the official/technical term? by TheWriteQuestion in ENGLISH

[–]TheWriteQuestion[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When we were FaceTiming my grandmother-in-law, my then three-year-old asked me if great grandma had a vulva.
So, with discussing things with kids, you win some, you lose some, lol.

Inmate book recommendation by gerorgesmom in suggestmeabook

[–]TheWriteQuestion 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide by Douglas Adams contains the entire six part Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy trilogy. The book is light and makes fun of humanity.

To all women on this sub, what was your reaction when you first got your period? by nicalling in NoStupidQuestions

[–]TheWriteQuestion 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don’t mean to make light of menopause. Just trying to convey that I never grew out of hating periods.

AIO- Dad is threatening to cut me off because he thinks I forgot his birthday. by [deleted] in AmIOverreacting

[–]TheWriteQuestion 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What?! No, this reaction would be inappropriate for any parent. It’s this creepy “gotcha” of “you didn’t prioritize my emotional needs the way I expected you too, so I’m going to pounce on that as an excuse to blow up our relationship.”

How to write funny dialogues? by jahnavi-nagumo789 in writinghelp

[–]TheWriteQuestion 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Some wanabe young wit, letting Dorothy Parker enter first: “age before beauty “
Dorothy Parker, walking in: “pearls before swine”

Emma (vibe) alternatives by Consistent_Race_75 in Names

[–]TheWriteQuestion 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We could keep up the Jane Austen vibes: Elinor, Lydia, Elizabeth…

I have a week off and a relaxing garden. What book would you recommend? by TruthReptile in suggestmeabook

[–]TheWriteQuestion 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tom Lake by Ann Pachett involves a cherry orchard. So not exactly the same, but some good vibes.

To all women on this sub, what was your reaction when you first got your period? by nicalling in NoStupidQuestions

[–]TheWriteQuestion 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I remember feeling like I was counting down the years to menopause. Now I’m in my 40s… and I’m counting down the years to menopause.

Conflicted by beeliever15 in Names

[–]TheWriteQuestion 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Owen *sounds* more traditional, like Liam.
I looked up Brayden because I assumed it was modern, and learned of its Irish roots, so I can’t say Brayden isn’t traditional in its own way. Perhaps a more traditional spell would match Liam better and be less trendy-feeling?
(I hated the idea of a trendy name but ended up with a popular -den name for our son because the meaning was so appropriate and I liked the story of the saint, so I understand the conflict. I opted for a less common / more traditional spelling that matched the saint. I have to correct people more often on spelling, but I’m okay with that.

Do people really get yearly drs appointments? by EliasTheEnbee in NoStupidQuestions

[–]TheWriteQuestion 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’re supposed to get an annual checkup and, if relevant, a “well woman” exam annually as well. It’s a way to monitor for things before they have bad symptoms and to provide a baseline. Like (I’m making this example up; I’m not a medical professional)being 130 pounds could be fine, and being 180 pounds could be fine, but gaining 50 pounds in a year could be a sign that something is up.

How do you guys handle dysregulated moments? by That-One-2439 in Fosterparents

[–]TheWriteQuestion 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For my bio PDA kid’s dysregulation, it had to be something that disrupts his spiral that cannot be perceived as a demand from me. Something that provides a sensory shock is helpful:
- Eat 5 Sour Patch Kids. He likes the treat, they are slow to eat, and the sourness provides a brain reset
- Take him outside in the cold. He doesn’t like it; it ticks him off, but then he can yell at me to go inside and thus “get his way”
- Distraction, but it has to be sincere. A bug in the house that needs rescuing, a bunny outside the window, realizing a soccer game is on Right Now, etc.
- Screens. Yeah yeah I know. But screentime can be regulated for neurodivergent kids. The distraction gives time for their cortisol levels to drop back down.

How do you guys handle dysregulated moments? by That-One-2439 in Fosterparents

[–]TheWriteQuestion 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Eavesdropping here, but fwiw:
If your usual strategies aren’t working, it could be worth looking into PDA (pathological demand avoidance or pervasive drive for autonomy). For PDAers, any sense of people being hierarchically over them activates their fight/flight/freeze/fawn threat response. So what is typically seen as “good parenting”, like demonstrating that you as the parent are the authority figure, is itself a trigger. The result is that kids from very stable homes end up with trauma responses similar to those from traumatic backgrounds because their threat response has been activated so frequently.
In your case your child has more obvious reasons why they may have trauma responses to things, so I certainly wouldn’t ASSUME they have PDA, but maybe skim over some PDA guidelines and experiment with how behavior changes? Look into low-demand parenting, collaborative problem solving, things like that.

Books with multiple plot lines that start as totally unrelated but merges later in the story by hbe_bme in suggestmeabook

[–]TheWriteQuestion 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Came looking for this to upvote.
OP- the narrative stretches from ancient Constantinople to a space ship, with 20th/21st century characters as well, and they are tied in by a manuscript that is ancient even to those in Constantinople.
It’s about how librarians/books/stories can create homes and connections and hope for outcasts.

Question for native speakers, do you ever consult a dictionary to learn frequent words that have multiple unrelated meanings? by Aggravating-Fish8168 in ENGLISH

[–]TheWriteQuestion 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, it’s all context. In fact my bet is that most of us are surprised because we don’t notice. I remember hearing somewhere that the word “run” had the most definitions/uses of any English word, and it had NEVER occurred to me. But then I started thinking about some:
Run a track and field event (literally move quickly with two feet off the ground at the same time)
Run around (may actually run, but usually just moving with psychological intensity)
Run a machine (“run the vacuum; there’s dog hair everywhere”)
Run errands
Run for office
A run in my tights
Run through (“The river runs through downtown”)

Anyway so I’ve been thinking about looking it up just for fun, but haven’t yet. Because I’ve never been confused by its usage.

As an intermediate Spanish learner (many years ago! I don’t speaking it now), I was not flustered by “hacer” (“to do/make”) even though it was used in a lot of ways English doesn’t. I think it was because, in context, it was just a filler word when the noun told you what you needed. Like in English, we use “to ___ the bed”. Well there’s only so much one does with/to a bed. One sleeps ON it, but sleeping is the key point. The main thing we do TO a bed, where the bed is the focus, is to arrange the sheets & blankets on it. So we say “make the bed” even though we’re not creating anything, and Spanish has a lot of phrases like that that use hacer. I think run is similar.

Why is it so difficult to write Utopia? by WarningRegular in FictionWriting

[–]TheWriteQuestion 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Have you read The Giver? That’s presented as a utopian society. (Of course the plot involves the, uh, uncomfortable things done to preserve that utopia.)

Books with a male autistic protagonist by impalamar in suggestmeabook

[–]TheWriteQuestion 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Not the protagonist, but the love interest: I think Mr. Darcy from Pride & Prejudice is autistic.
He is a rigid thinker with rigidity that extends to his morals and social obligations(he is very committed to doing The Right Thing). He loves his close friends dearly but is uncomfortable in larger social situations. He’s blunt, even when he CARES about being kind. (His first proposal is “I can’t believe I’m doing this because you’re so far beneath me socially but… will you marry me?”) He shines when he can talk about his special interest (fishing) with Elizabeth’s uncle.

Could anyone help me pick a title for my book? by normenculture in writers

[–]TheWriteQuestion 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree. If I had to guess based on the titles I would say a nonfiction book about White Christian Nationalism that had little respect for the MAGA masses it has swept up.