Literally There's Not Even Anything Wrong With Picrew??? Like, Some Of The Cutest Styles I've Ever Seen

literally there's not even anything wrong with Picrew??? Like, some of the cutest styles I've ever seen were on there??? Yeah it might not look EXACTLY correct the way you want it to, but honestly I doubt AI is even that much more accurate??? I've seen people use AI generators and they can't even get hands and HAIR correct. I've seen some awful renditions of "box braids" (it's insulting to call them that, honestly), and I guarantee Picrew would NEVER make your OCs box braids look like a badly crocheted hat.

“but AI art lets me create my OCs!” YOU WILL USE PICREW AS GOD INTENDED

Thinking of changing my username. I think it's cute but kinda... eh. Should I change it, then make a sideblog with this user instead? I don't want moots to get confused when they see me in their mentions or something lol.

Writing Share Tag

Thanks @mysticstarlightduck for the tag! The goal of this is to just share a piece of writing, so I'll be sharing an excerpt of an unnamed new WIP lmao.

"8 a.m. Some girl’s heartbroken warbling is the first thing to greet me at the start of the day. At some point, it was my favorite song, but somewhere along the line I’d developed a Pavlovian rage response to the snappy beat and angsty lyrics. It would be nice if I could replace it. My eyes water as I fight to pry them apart beneath the layer of sleep gunk. It didn’t feel worth it sometimes, to bother getting up and going about my life. But if there’s one thing I’ve never grown accustomed to, it’s hunger.

I stumble through my routine in my half-awake haze. Teeth, face, hair, clothes. I’m downstairs before my eyes are fully open. As much as I hate going hungry, I’m not excited for breakfast. It’s all just mouthfuls of ash. A glance at the clock says it’s 8:15. I leave a wicker basket filled with blankets on my window sill, then get started on breakfast. Buttered toast and tea. 8:30. The bird’s nest sitting precariously atop the edge of my roof falls and lands in the basket. The eggs are unharmed. I bring them in. 

9 a.m., I pack my bag. The weather report says it’ll be sunny out. I grab my umbrella. The landline rings. I ignore it. I don’t bother locking the door as I leave. Next door, my neighbor’s getting ready to mow her perfectly-manicured lawn. She smiles, all teeth, and comes over to greet me. I’m on my bike before she can get a word in. The last thing I want is to get stuck in conversation with her. By 9:30, I’m in the grocery store. The fluorescent overhead lights buzz and flicker as I fill my bag with random snacks, power-walking through the aisles. The 16-year-old clerk tries to call out to me, but I leave without paying. He doesn’t get paid enough to chase me, and I need to be out before 10:15. I don’t like getting shot. I’m gone before the robber even arrives in the parking lot. By 10:30, I’m at the edge of the woods.

It’s stupid. It’s so fucking stupid, but there really isn’t anything else I can do. The trees loom over me, warning, beckoning. It’ll end the same as it always does, but they invite me to try again all the same. Maybe it’ll be different this time. Maybe the 10,000th time’s the charm. Maybe I’ll fail again, the way I have hundreds of times before, and some cosmic entity will laugh as I get up at 8 a.m. and do it all fucking over again. 

I head into the treeline."

Gently Tagging: @nemaliwrites, @disastardly, @amaiguri, and anyone else who wants in!

Two Truths and A Lie Tag Game

Thanks for the tag, @mysticstarlightduck! I'll be using Michael from Asteria Heights (fantasy murder mystery), one of Meg's closest friends as she tries to solve her neighbor's murder!

This was fun! Would love to do it again lol. I'm very curious to see the results of this :D

Gently tagging: @amaiguri, @paintedbutton, @anoelleart, @justnerdy15, @fayeiswriting,

@comicgoblinwrites, @chaosisdying, @illarian-rambling, @ahungeringknife, @xaz-fr,

@starlitpage, @the-down-upside-finch and anyone else who's interested :D

OC Bag Game

Thanks @mysticstarlightduck for the tag! For this one I'll be using Asteria Heights (because they actually go to school lmao)

Rules: Name five things your OC would have in a backpack or any bag at school.

Meg:

Wallet

Single notebook (but no pen)

A snack of some kind

Laptop + charger

Crumpled receipts (she uses the same bag to go shopping lol)

Aven:

Pencil case (but no paper???)

Tablet

Sweater

A book he never reads

nothing. that's all he's got

Nina:

Lab ID (in her bag when she's not wearing it)

Laptop + charger

Notebooks

Pens

The fattest textbooks you've ever seen

Seraphina:

Book of Debts

Completed homework

Perfume

VERY strong sunblock

Blood pouches, just in case

Gently Tagging: @athenswrites, @the-down-upside-finch, @anoelleart, @fayeiswriting, and anyone else who wants in!

Tips for when you're struggling to "just write"

I'm sure we've all heard the advice to "just write" at some point. And while it's totally correct, the actual act itself is usually the main battle. Obviously we're all different and how we work and stay motivated etc. will also be different, but here's some stuff you can try if you haven't already!

Change the medium You'd be surprised how much this can help sometimes. Whatever you primarily use to write your stories- whether it's paper or computer, try switching it up. I usually use my computer to put my stories down, so if I'm struggling I bust out a notebook and pen. If you can't do that, simply making a new document or using a different writing app/site can help too. Hell, cut out the writing aspect entirely and just record yourself talking! Oftentimes, the hangup is centered around trying to pick up where you left off, and the pressure of "carrying the vibe/momentum" of the most recent scene. A "blank slate" can help remove the pressure if you're not looking at your other scenes. This ties into my next tip.

New scene!!! Like I said- sometimes, part of the pressure behind writing is when you try to pick up where you left off. It isn't just daunting, it's impossible when you genuinely don't know where to go next. Personally, I often run into the problem of "now what?" I don't know how to create "connective tissue" scenes, or (as I said), keep the momentum as I finish a planned Important Scene. So picking a random point in the story- whether that's the next Important Scene or one I haven't even figured out a place for yet- and just writing from there can really help. And this point also ties into my next tip!

FUCK PROSE. Seriously. I get VERY hung up on words not Wording properly, and it drives me insane. Often, I get so hung up on HOW to say what I MEAN to say, that I'll never end up writing anything down- and then I end up forgetting what I was going to say at all. Bulleting out my lines can help, but it's often even harder to translate those bullets into actual dialogue for me, so I try not to do that. Instead, I actually write out the scenes- but I do it really, really directly and plainly. Obviously, if inspiration strikes on a line, that's fine, but the point is to have a scene written. I try to be as quick and direct as possible, like a report or stage directions. "Oh, but I used 'muttered' to describe dialogue 3 times!" Oh well. "But this is just a full page of dialogue and no action or movement!" Too bad. The point isn't the pretty prose. You can cry about that later, after you actually write it. That's what revisions are for. You know you're just gonna obsess over and rewrite your work anyway, no matter how much time you're gonna spend on it the first go around. Save that headache for future you. They were gonna have one anyway.

Get up and go! It might surprise you, but sometimes it's the scenery of real life that you need to worry about. Whether it's getting up and moving to a different chair in your room, or moving to an entirely new building, sometimes being somewhere else rattles something loose inside your brain. Especially if you tend to write in your room- I personally can't do homework in my room because of all the clutter, but also because my mind associates my room with relaxing. I sleep, play video games, and tinker with my pet projects in my room. So if I can't focus, I go to my dining or living room, or even my campus library. Something about being around other people makes it easier to hold myself accountable.

Set realistic goals. Sometimes part of the problem is that you can't seem to find time, or that even when you do find time, it's never enough to make significant progress in your story. I struggle to dive headfirst into a scene even when I'm bursting with ideas- I need to review the most recent scene before I can start generating words. But knowing how much progress- or lack thereof- that's been made on your story can sometimes make it really overwhelming to even approach it. But like any other task, it's easier when you break it down. If the most you can write on the average day is three sentences, aim to write three sentences a day. Even if you end up scrapping them later, WRITE THEM. At the very least, it'll help build the habit and make it easier for you to seek out time and write in the future.

Take a break. Sometimes you really, really just can't write. No one else can assess what you need better than yourself. If you feel like you need a break, take one. Whether that's reading someone else's story, or taking a walk, or taking a nap, or just staring at that one spot on your wall, just PUT THE DAMN STORY DOWN. This is probably one you've heard before, but I'm saying it anyway, because some of you aren't listening!!!!! PUT IT DOWN, BESTIE!!!

That's all I can think of at the moment. These are all things I try to do personally, and while I'm not some award-winning novelist, I'm definitely writing things and trying my best!!! So maybe this will help someone else who's also trying their best, and just hasn't come across one of these methods yet.