Hi, my name is Raven. A tumblr person back when it was cool, here to chaotically scream about YGO and other card game anime. Icon is by the amazing moldy_mold.
I think it’s time for us to all collectively return to the library. Get a card, go to a club meeting, volunteer on an off day, rent some equipment. You don’t even have to read a book. But since the digital world is rapidly becoming a subscription-only hellscape requiring a criminal amount of private personal information to use even CASUALLY, the library has become our last safe haven to just exist with information present and not have our labour or information exploited for money.
Every 21st century piece of writing advice: Make us CARE about the character from page 1! Make us empathize with them! Make them interesting and different but still relatable and likable!
Every piece of classic literature: Hi. It’s me. The bland everyman whose only purpose is to tell you this story. I have no actual personality. Here’s the story of the time I encountered the worst people I ever met in my life. But first, ten pages of description about the place in which I met them.
Modern writing advice: Yes your protagonist should have flaws but ultimately we should root for them and like them from the beginning :)
Charles Dickens: Here is the worst ugliest rudest meanest nastiest bitch you’ve ever met in your life.
Modern writing advice: Make sure your POV character goes through a significant arc! Make sure they are changed by the narrative! Make sure they learn a lesson!
Narrators of every book of the 19th century: the lesson I learned is these people fucking suck, sayonara you freaks
Modern writing advice: It’s all about the character overcoming obstacles and learning! They learn their lesson so they can fix their mistakes and make good choices in the future! It’s a character arc! It’s called growth! Readers love it!
Everyone from ancient times through the 19th century: would you like to watch a Guy fuck up twenty times in a row
One thing I urge adults to unlearn is the stigma surrounding forgetfulness.
Perfect memory retention is rare. A faulty memory can be the result a host of mental illnesses, from ADHD to PTSD. It’s not a sign that someone wasn’t listening. I have a friend that has a four year gap in her memory due to trauma. I have another with poor short term memory retention because that’s one of their autism symptoms.
Your brain can also trick you into misremembering things. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve remembered putting my keys somewhere and unearthed them in a completely different place. I have to remind myself what my birth date is because I said it wrong once and now the wrong date is in my memory forever. I have to come up with mnemonics for birthdays, anniversaries, and events because my brain doesn’t do numbers for some reason.
I see people bicker about forgetting a person’s favorite food or what their mothers favorite color. I think it’s important to forgive people who forget easily.
