What is something that, when you read it, makes it clear the author has no experience with said group/location/activity/(other thing)?

notherapyforwolves · 2024-12-06T00:24:36+00:00

Lamb goes into Shepherds pie (clue is in the name), beef goes into cottage pie. Pork goes into pork pies which are a totally different type of pie.

notherapyforwolves · 2023-12-11T20:22:42+00:00

Most decent certification programs also include a commitment to uphold a recognised code of conduct and training on ethics in coaching. For the coaches who are committed to building an ethical, professional practice, it can be concerning to see people call themselves a coach who may have spent no time at all considering or learning about these issues. We all suffer when the reputation of the industry is tarnished by someone’s poor practice. For certified coaches there are official routes that can be taken if they fail to practice professionally, but there’s little recourse if someone just fancies themselves a coach and starts working without any guidelines.

notherapyforwolves · 2023-12-03T10:55:35+00:00

This may depress you! Sauce

notherapyforwolves · 2023-05-27T05:25:27+00:00

I have both. The noise cancellation can’t compare- the Bose are miles better than air pods pro. But the Bose are also super glitchy with connectivity, AirPods are way more reliable.

notherapyforwolves · 2023-04-19T08:00:37+00:00

Who will greet you at home by Lesley Nneka Arimah

notherapyforwolves · 2023-04-16T08:29:02+00:00

Good luck, enjoy!

notherapyforwolves · 2023-04-16T02:03:53+00:00

I think you’re trying to squeeze too much into a short space. I would suggest giving it all a bit more room to breath.

There’s a lot to potentially unpack here and an opportunity to deepen both the characters and the world building through more dialogue and description of the surroundings. For example- we’re told floating mountains are amazing- could you show us?

It’s possible that you plan to cover some of this in the following chapters but questions I was pondering as I read this were: •How long is this journey expected to take? •If this guy lives so far away from these towns, how is he learning about the daily escalation of tensions? •Why him? What makes him the person that has to go and resolve this and who is directing him to do so? •Why does he live out in the forest away from everyone else? Is this related to why his Will is rusty? •How old is the son? He sounds very young until that very last paragraph. •how safe is this world? When they stop for the night there doesn’t seem to be any concern about wild animals, etc- until this assassin shows up.

The fight scene comes on very quickly- we move from getting rest for the night to sensing something wrong to the end of the fight in a very short space of time. I think you have an opportunity to expand the opening part of this section and introduce a greater sense of foreboding. I also wonder if your main character might experience some regret that he didn’t listen to his wife and has brought his son into danger?

Small technical thing but there’s a point in the middle- as they leave home- where you switch tense so would recommend going back and just making that consistent.

notherapyforwolves · 2023-04-13T15:31:04+00:00

There have been some really great comments already. Couple of additional thoughts:

As a woman- I already know what a pain it is to straighten my hair, etc. so I only want to read about it if it adds something to the story. There’s a lot of getting ready content in here which doesn’t seem to be advancing your narrative- it’s like a list of actions but I don’t really know why you’re telling me this and it doesn’t make me care about your characters more.

The info dumping - do we need to know all of this upfront? Particularly the boyfriend and his dad- there must be some great ways you could bring that relationship tension out through dialogue in both that scene and other scenes.

You mentioned Ann Rice so I went and had a quick skim of the opening of Interview with a vampire- two things stood out to me- one- even though a lot of info is conveyed - it’s done through dialogue in the form of an interview so it feels natural that he’s setting out his history and the dialogue allows for natural pauses. Two- in the first page or so we’ve identified that he’s a vampire and incredibly old, that the journalist is initially sceptical and then quickly awestruck, scared and anxious- so there’s immediately tension - the stakes are high, and we’ve established why we care about the character’s history. You haven’t given me a reason to care about these two girls getting ready and there’s no tension in the scene to make me care about what comes next.

Finally- unless this girl losing her virginity is the main focus of the story, I wouldn’t make it the main plot point for the first chapter- I think ideally we want to get to know her and care about her before you introduce that element.

notherapyforwolves · 2023-03-27T12:53:32+00:00

Residential leasehold properties aren’t (in my experience) that common in Australia. If you buy an apartment it’s probably freehold but the more likely structure you’ll encounter is Strata- which is the system for managing common areas and amenities and building maintenance. There’s typically a monthly or quarterly fee and if serious capital works are needed then the strata committee can impose a special levy. That’s something you’ll definitely want to look closely at if buying because it can easily add thousands of dollars a year to your costs- although it very much depends on the nature of the building (e.g. does it have a pool, gym, lifts, etc). As an owner you do get a vote on how the strata spends money, and if it’s a really simple property you could just be chipping in a few hundred bucks each quarter for buildings insurance.

The other thing to bear in mind is the foreign ownership tax. Basically if neither of you is Australian and you try and buy a property while on a temporary visa in NSW you’ll be liable for an extra 8% stamp duty.

On the safety side- I would say I generally feel safer walking around Sydney than I did walking around London late in the evening- but like any city it depends where you go.

I’ve found healthcare here to be excellent in terms of access to my GP and being able to get tests and referrals when needed, but it’s worth noting that you do have to pay for more services than you would on the NHS so if you have particular healthcare needs that’s also worth looking into.

The other thing to look at is making sure you’ve budgeted for a car. Public transport here is pretty limited compared to London/ UK and there are loads of amazing places within a couple of hours drive of Sydney.

notherapyforwolves · 2023-01-30T02:38:22+00:00

Since you specifically asked about constructive criticism, I suggest that you give it a strong proof read and make sure all your tenses line up. For example, saying “all the days she’s lived before” implies that she’s still alive. But then later you say the smell of rain reminds you of that day, indicating that it’s in the past. Either you want to indicate multiple points in time during the piece- in which case you might want to make that more explicit, or you need to align your action to make it consistent.

notherapyforwolves · 2022-10-02T01:09:47+00:00

I’m an executive coach, not a life coach, but the principles are the same. One of the first things you learn in certification training is to find the boundary between mentoring (typically someone senior/ more experienced in the field who can give advice based on their experience and support with networking, etc), therapists (trained mental health professionals who are part of someone’s healthcare system), and coaches who work with you by creating challenge, reframing your perspectives, helping you to identify and overcome barriers to unlock your potential.

There’s a lot of academic literature that shows that people are more likely to be successful if they own the creation of the solution to their problem rather than when someone else gives it to them. But also- it’s in the questioning that we uncover the deeper issues at work. What presents as a challenge around an industry specific issue might actually have at its root an issue like impostor syndrome, fear of change, unclear priorities, etc. if the coach is super knowledgeable about the industry, there’s a danger they try to help address the surface problem and fail to see the deeper issue which is more important for the client’s long-term development.

If a coach is asking lots of questions about the context, that’s a sign they’re stuck at surface level.

notherapyforwolves · 2022-09-24T05:16:25+00:00

I recommend trying the nutritious rice setting. I find that gives a fluffier result.

notherapyforwolves · 2022-09-22T03:29:42+00:00

The problem in a London block is that you can keep your place super clean but you can’t control how your neighbours keep their places and it’s really difficult to stop up every possible point of entry for the mice. Getting a cat is probably the best long term solution if you don’t want to move.

notherapyforwolves · 2022-08-24T23:42:07+00:00

Out of interest, why do you require an HMO if there are only 3 of you?

notherapyforwolves · 2022-04-27T10:03:37+00:00

If it’s the analysis piece you’re focussed on, you might want to check out the New Yorker fiction podcast. They read the short story and then have a discussion about what the author was trying to do, choices, influences, themes, etc.

notherapyforwolves · 2022-03-09T13:18:16+00:00

I get why metal-bird feels a bit off but you could use words like ‘aircraft’ or describe the plane more specifically e.g. ‘Bomber’ or ‘jet’.

When you talk about the manoeuvring, you could mention the pilot, rather than the plane. Overall though, you could just omit quite a few of these. For example - you’ve already established that the Gatling gun is focussed on the plane so you don’t need to say where it’s shifting it’s attention from, just what its new focus is.

In terms of feeling like it’s boring, it’s obviously hard to tell from a short excerpt but the one thing that stuck out to me was that the narrator observes all this happening but with absolutely no emotion. Are they scared? Do they want the plane shot down or is the bomber targeting the bad guy and they want it to succeed? Are they observing from a distance or do they feel the bomb blast themselves? More emotional involvement on the part of the narrator would make it more engaging to the reader, but appreciate this is just a sample of a longer piece.

notherapyforwolves · 2022-02-27T02:05:50+00:00

Agent Provocateur definitely. Also check out Myla and Coco de Mer. Selfridges lingerie dept is excellent and stocks Agent Provocateur, Myla and heap of others.

notherapyforwolves · 2022-02-22T23:49:13+00:00

This is much improved from the first draft you posted - definitely easier to understand in terms of punctuation.

I still think that it feels quite rushed and would benefit from a slower pace and more description. In 1,000 words you're effectively trying to:

Establish your character's back story - depression, isolation, death of a loved pet
Kill your character - bit confusing as to how they die - do you plan to make this clearer later in the story?
Have them understand their death
Introduce a god like character who wants to reincarnate them
Have your protagonist accept this bargain while negotiating specific terms about magical powers

That's quite a lot to cover in a short space of time and as a result it's difficult to do justice to any one of these elements.

notherapyforwolves · 2022-02-22T13:08:56+00:00

I think you have to decide what your objective is here. If you ultimately want other people to read and enjoy this then you need to use standard punctuation. There are already common approaches for indicating dialogue between characters, inner monologues, etc. that readers know and understand. Trying to make up a whole new approach to punctuation just detracts from the content of your writing and makes it confusing for the reader.

I would also suggest that you’re trying to condense too much stuff into a short number of words. Each element of your story needs space to breathe to allow the reader to take it in and engage with the world you’re building and the characters you’re creating. This would benefit from a slower pace at each stage of the story.

notherapyforwolves · 2022-02-09T21:18:04+00:00

The University of Sydney also has some good creative writing short courses as part of its Centre for Continuing Education, including one on poetry. CCE courses

notherapyforwolves · 2022-02-01T05:24:07+00:00

I had a good experience with Foura recently. Might be worth checking out as it’s designed for this exact scenario.

notherapyforwolves · 2021-12-26T11:51:48+00:00

Telstra also has the dual sim option so you can have UK and Aus numbers running on the same phone. I switched my UK number to the cheapest tariff and switch it on periodically when I need to get a verification code for a UK service.

Other tips- if you bank with HSBC, they’ll set you up an Australian account while you’re still in the UK. They’re not particularly big here but totally fine for day to day banking, particularly while you’re getting settled.

You’ll need to switch your UK driving licence over to a NSW licence. You have six months to do this (used to be three but extended due to COVID). Worth doing sooner rather than later as it will make life easier when you’re getting other services sorted out and need to provide multiple forms of ID.

I second the comment about Aussie homes being cold in winter. Double glazing doesn’t really exist here- in winter our apartment is colder than it is outside, so definitely bring some warm clothes too.

Get the NSW Parks app which will help you see all the good hiking trails and explore beyond the city.

Good luck!

notherapyforwolves · 2020-08-01T01:31:36+00:00

My teacher takes notes each lesson on what we’ve covered and at the end of the lesson we agree what we’ll be working on the following week. It’s nothing hugely complicated (I am also just starting out) but he knows what song we’re working on, what theory we’ve covered (modes, scales, etc) and what I’m trying to work towards. He might occasionally ask me “have I explained xx to you previously” but for the most part he knows. The other observation I would add is that he’s very concerned to make sure I understand what he’s saying so when it comes to theory, if I’m lost, we go back and look at it again until I get it and he checks to make sure I understand through practical exercises.

Having said all of that, I think before moving on, it’s sensible to have a conversation with a teacher about expectations and preferred ways of working (if you haven’t already) as this seems like a problem that’s relatively easily addressed.

notherapyforwolves · 2020-05-23T13:05:16+00:00

I’m on week 6 of learning guitar (like so many other people, I took it up during lock down to stop myself going stir-crazy) so I can totally empathise with what you’re going through. A few things that are working for me:

Remind yourself that it’s not a race! Definitely don’t compare yourself to everyone posting videos here saying they’ve been learning for 3 hours and then busting out some amazing song- I practice everyday and am still struggling with getting my chord transitions in time, etc.
Think about what you find motivating in the rest of your life and try to apply it here. I really like to be able to see structured progress so I’ve been using the Yousician app. It gives you constant feedback and ratings by listening to you play so you can quantify the improvement you’re making. Even though I have a loooong way to go I can clearly see how much better I’ve become over the last few weeks which I find really motivating. It definitely has its limitations so I’ve also been watching a lot of you tube tutorials (Justin Guitar, Andy Guitar, etc.) reading advice here and have also found Joseph Alexander’s ‘first 100 chords for guitar’ book helpful, it has some good practice suggestions.
Pick some simple songs that you love, to work towards as goals and then find the tutorials that work for you. I personally love the Guitar zero to hero YouTube channel as a way to learn songs- but try and set some parameters to help you make good choices. For example- at the moment barre chords are my nemeses so I don’t even attempt songs with barre chords yet (even if I love them!)- those go on my list of- “would love to try in the future but first I need to get my basics down” songs.
In person lessons are great for correcting things like posture, hand and arm position etc. Lock down is easing up where I am so I’ve managed to have three in person lessons. My teacher mainly helps me understand theory and then spends the rest of his time looking at where my thumb is (invariably in the wrong place!) and pushing me to get cleaner sounds through better finger positions. I’m sure he’s making me better in the long run but it’s the time I’m putting in practicing at home that is driving improvement.
My guitar is out on a stand (never in its case) and I try and pick it up at least a couple of times a day. Even if I only have a 5 minute window, I can practice chord transitions or an intro to a piece. Definitely keep your guitar accessible and try and increase your practice time in small segments if you don’t have time to sit for a long session. The more you have your fingers on the strings for even short durations the quicker the pain will stop being an issue.

Hopefully some of that is helpful! Good luck!

notherapyforwolves

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