Ideally, when you enter a competition, you win it. If you don’t, your consolation prize is some knowledgeable feedback about why someone else won.
But when you’re reading for a competition, you aren’t a critic. We can’t be brutally honest about what doesn’t work in your script. Our function is to be as helpful as possible, which occasionally produces euphemism.
If you didn’t get past the first round and you want to know what your feedback really means, here is a translation.
Euphemism: The concept didn’t gel.
Your story isn’t about a person who fights through obstacles of increasing difficulty, including his crippling flaw, to get something he can’t live without.
The fix: Nail down your story so it is about someone doing something difficult for a compelling reason.
Euphemism: The dialogue is expository.
Your lines explain what’s going on, who everyone is and why they’re doing what they’re doing.
The fix: Write dialogue as if it’s the reader’s job to figure all that stuff out. Compose most dialogue to build character instead of reveal plot. Focus on subtext. Readers love subtext.
Euphemism: The stakes are low.
Your plot never establishes why your protagonist needs this thing he needs so much that if he doesn’t get it, it would be a catastrophe.
The fix: Get rid of all his safety nets. Write with an eye to increasing how badly this enterprise can go wrong.
Euphemism: The protagonist is not sympathetic.
You wrote a character the reader doesn’t care about. Your protag does not have to be likable, but he has to be relatable.
The fix: Give your protag a deep, authentic flaw and construct his obstacles to challenge him right where he’s weakest.
Euphemism: Low conflict.
You’re much too easy on your protag.
The fix: To up your conflict, brainstorm about the worst possible thing that could happen to your protag in his quest. The tallest hurdle. The biggest betrayal. The most devastating setback. Then do that.
Euphemism: The structure is loose.
Every scene does not add something.
The fix: Every scene should complicate matters rather then illuminate them or set them up or resolve them. Go through your scenes and find the ones that don’t throw another wrench into the works. Tighten your structure by lumping them together into scenes that matter, or get rid of them.
Did you get a euphemistic piece of feedback you can’t decipher? I would love to hear it.
I love this account because years ago when I worked door-to-door, I would semi-routinely get sent to unbuilt, defunct (collapsed/absorbed/reallocated) or wholly undeveloped addresses. Most surreal day on the job, I got sent to a whole fresh development of houses without phones or driveways yet (figuratively, partially). I don’t think they even had a settled district at that point in the year. Street signs? Pffft. According to every available online map service, they did not exist. It was naked country. I have no idea by what process my company settled on their presence. I had made a left turn into a null zone. The plans existed somewhere, yes. They had to, legally. But there was barely a presence indicated at the county auditor’s office (which no one paid me to check). It was like dealing with Space Amish. I was left to conclude that whoever was selling these homes was operating in direct conjunction with the occupants’ employers.
Yes! I got some feedback from “Apples” on the pose. I knew the leg felt off but I couldn’t figure out why. If I make it into a print I’ll be sure to fix it.
Thank you so much @shsl-box-split !!! Everything came perfectly ❤️Highly recommend, always professional and incredibly sweet. My boys and Kyoko are looking amazing, could not be happier T_T
Glad to see everyone arrived so safely! Thank you for being a part of my splits! Enjoy everything!
Thank you @shsl-box-split for my new Sakura and Aoi goodies~
I painted both versions of these outfits a little while back since I enjoy both of the color pallets so I’m happy to have their corresponding standees <3
Those pieces are really beautiful!!
Thank you so much for being a part of my splits, I really hope you like everything! Please take care!
Hey, I wanted to make a post to any friends and followers who are still actually on Tumblr. I wish I had reacted faster to Tumblr’s ban of all nudity but 2018 was rough for me and it took me a while to try to deal with some issues in my life–but I felt like it was important not to rush it or split my focus.
This will probably be lengthy, but I’ll try to keep my rambling to a minimum. I’ve created accounts and played around with several different “Tumblr alternatives”, and I honestly haven’t found any decent replacements that I enjoy using as much as Tumblr–the design of the website, the Livejournal-like design with pre-made layouts as well as being easy to use your own html and tweak things, intuitive posting, wide variety of content you can post, being able to share other artists’ content, how simple it is to interact with fans and like-minded people…etc.
So I decided to try to revive my old site. It’s pretty rough and there’s still a lot I need to figure out/fix. I’m definitely not good at making websites or setting all this stuff up and I am definitely open to suggestions on changes I can make, or other platforms that would be better. I have a Patreon account as well.
My ideas are to offer access to a private blog and a gallery of uncensored nudes that I will update regularly, as well as maybe allowing these members or patrons access to my private IG account where I just post wholesome things like food and sunsets–if people are interested in that. I also intend to sell full photosets separately if people want digital copies. I have also played around with the idea of trying to write short erotica stories and selling those if people have any interest in that.
There are only a few people who know who I am and know about this blog, so I guess I wanted to find out if this is something people are interested in before sharing links to my website or social media. I’d really appreciate feedback on if people are interested in any of this and what they’re interested/what they would like to see. Of course there would still be free content, like my fb page, my main blog and I would like to start streaming on my twitch account.
I think my 3 biggest concerns at the moment are: 1. Making sure if people are donating or spending any amount of money to help support me that they are actually getting content and they feel it’s worth it. 2. But also, making enough money to actually make all of this possible. 3. Streamlining things as much as possible so that people aren’t confused about anything and I am not overwhelmed by trying to manage too many things all at once.
Please, if you were patient enough to read all that–I would love some feedback. Let me know if you’re interested or have suggestions/questions. :)
—Summary: Sometimes it takes fire for things to come alive. Bucky grew up in a changing world and the only constant he ever knew was you—a guiding star, a sense of home. When he gets shipped off to the 107th Infantry, he takes with him the warmth of your hug and all his fears over never telling you how he felt.
One mission and one letter change everything.
—Word count: 2.6k
—A/n:Happy holidays celebration season, darlings! This is the 4th commission I got for my lovely and dear Tiff, from a prompt I had the hardest time not turning it into a monstrosity of a fic, and I hope from the bottom of my heart they enjoy it. Join the winter celebrations and order your own Happy reading.
Bucky lifts the pen off the paper and stares at his trembling fingers. Even with a few hours of sleep, the shock of their near-death mission continued on his body. If he stopped to analyze through his foggy brain and the words he so desperately needed to get off his chest, he would also note the ringing in his left ear and the throbbing on the left shoulder.
The words were heavier than any of the pain, so he sips his water and tries again, after taking three careful breaths this time. He starts the letter again.
I swear to the holy freakingity frackity sun, grass, sky, earth and everything above, this was a MASTERPIECE, I honestly can’t process how many endorphins I’m feeling and how many years I’m shedding because of this fic, holy damn
This was beautiful, thank you so much you are a saint, this was wonderful ❤️
That is a lot of things to swear upon so I’ll 100% believe you. I’m so thankful, but definitely not a saint, bubs LOL. Thanks a lot for the compliments ❤️
—Summary: Evolving and changing are the parts of human nature one should never lose, but the first ones to go without you realizing as time goes by. Bucky hadn’t noticed how stagnant his life had become until you arrive to shake it up. You come to his life with three teachings, and they all could only lead up to onething.
—Word count: 8.5k
—A/n: This is the commission I got for my lovely and sweetMalin.As always, I hope from the bottom of my heart she enjoys it. Happy reading, my loves.
—Warning(s):This work contains (18+) mature content. Minors, DNI. Explicit descriptions of sex; fingering, penetration, choking, dirty talk, praising, rough-handling.
It was a truth universally acknowledged — at least by those who had a working brain — that changing is part of evolving; of growing. Whoever got older and stuck to their old beliefs or stopped learning fucking sucked,clinging to a time that no longer existed.
Bucky wished he could say he was a cool man, but he soon learns he isn’t.
“That’s a surprise to you?” Natasha snorts by his side.
Ouch. “I thought I was cool.” He may be to others and in many aspects of his life, but he laughs behind his cup, thinking of the sweet irony of identifying with a meme of all things right now. “My girlfriend’s cooler, though.”
Natasha looks to the other side of her living room where you are and nods solemnly. “That is most definitely true.”
—Summary:It’s his parents’ wedding day, and Peter thinks about many things from start to finish. What teachings they’ve passed him so far in life, what’s the point in all these ceremonies and special brandings society insists on—a bunch of things that dictate life and how happy everyone is. Ultimately, he thinks about how happy true love looks. How effortless, even in the struggles. Partnership. It’s all he wants for his own life, someday.
Getting tattooed was a lot like getting absolutely high. You either had one and got a taste for the thing, coming back to it whenever possible, or you had the experience and thought ‘yeah, that’s not for me, thank you very much’. For Peter, it was more of the first. His first tattoo was not the first of that year alone – the only perk of working when you still live with parents, he thinks – and was far from the last if the drawings on his notebook were any indicator.
The second tattoo he got, two months after the first one, meant the most to him so far (out of his six).
The Balance that laid on the inside of his arm was supposed to represent the duality of life and, most importantly, the two most important lessons he ever got in life from each of his parents.
It was all he could think about during their wedding day.
I loved this! Seeing the relationship through peters eyes is a nice change, especially this specific day. I love the lessons he thinks of and his relationship with the reader - I love that he calls her mama cuz that’s what I call my mama ❤️ I was a little surprised to see that Natasha was there too, but I’m glad it wasn’t for anything illwilled and that they’re on good terms ❤️
Awn Remi, thank you so much!! I wanted to wrap it up nicely and what a better way to do it than with their baby right?! And yeah, Nat being there was a surprise, one meant to show that it’s not always supposed to be bad when we grow and learn from things.
—summary: there is a thin line between pain and pleasure. that line is real and palpable, except for the times when you sit in bucky barnes’ table and feel his hands holding your skin.
his job demands him to hurt you, but the only problem is that you enjoy it. a lot.
—word count: 5.2k (i might have gotten excited.. heh.)
—warning(s): the thirst is real and so is are the explicit thoughts. pg-17.
—a/n: my new tattoo artist is the hottest thing ever so i needed this to let my mind breathe lol. feedback/reblogs/comments are highly encouraged and much appreciated. there might be some mistakes in here, feel free to let me know if you find them.
the first thing you ever noticed about bucky was his metal arm.
it was an incredible and most likely very expensive piece of stark industries technology in collaboration with the scientist shuri and it shone beautifully under the sunlight.
the second thing was his eyes—your friend nat says, “and this is bucky,” with a pointed smile and you see it, wicked arm, wow and oh—nice eyes.
the third and most dangerous are the tattoos. bucky’s right arm is covered in them.
he smiles politely at you — good fucking gods, the smile on this man — reaches out his hand (the real one) and says, “hi. nice to meet you.”
as if the blush you felt on your face needed company, your nervous stutter decides to pop by when you answer. apparently, he doesn’t mind. he goes on, “nat here tells me you liked my pieces? feel free to drop by shield at any time for a consultation.”
and that’s when it hits you.
this is bucky barnes. the white wolf. one of new york’s rising and most intriguing tattoo artists.
and right there on moment one is when you know—if you ever were to get inked by him, you would be utterly and completely fucked.
—Summary:It’s his parents’ wedding day, and Peter thinks about many things from start to finish. What teachings they’ve passed him so far in life, what’s the point in all these ceremonies and special brandings society insists on—a bunch of things that dictate life and how happy everyone is. Ultimately, he thinks about how happy true love looks. How effortless, even in the struggles. Partnership. It’s all he wants for his own life, someday.
Getting tattooed was a lot like getting absolutely high. You either had one and got a taste for the thing, coming back to it whenever possible, or you had the experience and thought ‘yeah, that’s not for me, thank you very much’. For Peter, it was more of the first. His first tattoo was not the first of that year alone – the only perk of working when you still live with parents, he thinks – and was far from the last if the drawings on his notebook were any indicator.
The second tattoo he got, two months after the first one, meant the most to him so far (out of his six).
The Balance that laid on the inside of his arm was supposed to represent the duality of life and, most importantly, the two most important lessons he ever got in life from each of his parents.
It was all he could think about during their wedding day.
No bc I was literally tearing up reading the summary. “How effortless, even in the struggles. Partnership. It’s all he wants for his own life, someday.” How beautiful.
Their whole story is so beautiful and it makes my heart happy. I hope I can stumble across my found family one day too.
I think that finding our own family is all that everyone deserves. I’m thrilled that you loved this series, Ocean
—Summary: Unpredictable, unfair and unreasonable—so far in, that’s all Bucky’s known life to be. With the exception of his son, nothing has ever inspired consistency or proven to be worthwhile enough for him to fight daily to keep. Going back to University while being a single parent has more than one rough edge. He feels lost, out of place, with a constant itch under his skin.
Then, you arrive like a Comet, daring him to change all his skeptic perceptions.
—Word count: 5.1k
—Warning(s): This work is intended for 18+ audiences. Minors, DNI. Explicit depictions of sex. I do not allow for my work to be copied, translated, or reuploaded on any other platform.
There was no point in denying Bucky loved the flair.
Champagne towers, floor-length silky dresses and men dressed to impress for a change, every corridor lit with the best light possible and, to make matters perfect, enough booze to have even the stiffest co-worker laughing and sharing giggles.
Being at this job for only a few months, Bucky still feels out of place though. Which is why he sticks to sipping his drink in a corner until someone comes to him and engages in conversation. Usually the first thing out of their mouths is something related to Steve—while he’s new at the Museum, Steve’s not and if the people who knew Bucky before he arrived are any indicator, he spoke quite a lot about him.
It’s at the party he discovers there’s a second favorite question he enjoys hearing, other than ‘Ah, so you’re the Barnes lad that Rogers keeps talking about?’ and that is:
—Summary:It’s his parents’ wedding day, and Peter thinks about many things from start to finish. What teachings they’ve passed him so far in life, what’s the point in all these ceremonies and special brandings society insists on—a bunch of things that dictate life and how happy everyone is. Ultimately, he thinks about how happy true love looks. How effortless, even in the struggles. Partnership. It’s all he wants for his own life, someday.
Getting tattooed was a lot like getting absolutely high. You either had one and got a taste for the thing, coming back to it whenever possible, or you had the experience and thought ‘yeah, that’s not for me, thank you very much’. For Peter, it was more of the first. His first tattoo was not the first of that year alone – the only perk of working when you still live with parents, he thinks – and was far from the last if the drawings on his notebook were any indicator.
The second tattoo he got, two months after the first one, meant the most to him so far (out of his six).
The Balance that laid on the inside of his arm was supposed to represent the duality of life and, most importantly, the two most important lessons he ever got in life from each of his parents.
It was all he could think about during their wedding day.
This is the best thing everrrrrr! Thank you so much for gifting us this beautiful piece of art! I love the wedding from Peter’s point of view. And the vows. The. Vows. I’m just a puddle of emotions. I can’t even string words together. I’m sorry this probably doesn’t even make any sense but I just had to say I love it and thank you!
Ayyyyyyy, I was nervous about those vows, I’m happy you liked it babes!
Most games and organisers welcome feedback to improve their games. Here’s a non-definitive guide to help you through the process.
I think it’s worth clarifying from the off that feedback is different from a froth or venting post. My only tip there is if it’s a mostly negative post, filter the organisers out for a bit after the game. They’ll likely be feeling wrung out and stressed, and probably not in a place to see the solution in amongst the problems. Manners, innit.
Now, the feedback guide.
STEP ONE: AFTER THE GAME. It can be super useful to note down soon after the game immediate impressions and thoughts you had. Keeping hold of fleeting thoughts can be difficult, and noting them down minimises the risk of forgetting them.
STEP TWO: DO NOTHING. Recover from the game, gain some distance, indulge in froth or comfort! Giving it a little time encourages some objectivity and emotional distance.
STEP THREE: LOGISTICS Find out when the organisers want feedback (and in rare cases, if they want it at all). In most cases, this is at least a week after the game, so they’ve had some time to destress and rest. In some cases, it’s longer. Respect this.
Also useful to know is how they like to receive feedback. Almost all ask for it via email, but some create forms especially for this purpose. If it’s a form, the rest of the guide is probably mootish, as it’ll specifically walk you through what the organisers want.
STEP FOUR: THE FIRST DRAFT Write down everything you liked, and everything you didn’t. Good is just as important as the bad here. They need to know what you liked so they can keep doing it! It’s also a bit disheartening to get an email full of problems and no praise. But also, be honest. It’s useless if it isn’t true.
STEP FIVE: EXAMINE FURTHER. Look at your list. Look at what you dis/liked and try to put your finger on why, and put it into words. Sometimes, you won’t know the answer and that’s okay.
Examples: What you liked: “I enjoyed the final boss fight on Friday.” Why: “Because it felt like every player had a role in it’s defeat, and nobody got left out.”
What you disliked: “I had a bad time on Saturday morning about ten am.” Why: “I found it hard to find out any information due to there not being enough communication from the NPC.”
Another useful thing that is much tricker is to suggest improvements. Again, if your brain can’t produce them, that’s okay! It’s not your job after all! But it can signpost possible solutions to the organisers, even if they ultimately choose a different route.
Example: “I found the encounter on Saturday afternoon tough due to feeling like I had nothing to do. I think if some healing plot was added, more characters that weren’t fighters could have joined in.”
STEP SIX: DOUBLE CHECK Some last checks of the content are useful. For instance, making sure some of the points don’t need to be actual complaints against another player (like if someone broke the rules and it ruined your day). Another thing is to ensure it’s actually the organiser’s responsibility. If you were unhappy due to forgetting to hydrate, there’s not much they can do about it. Additionally, if the game just turned out not to be your thing, suggesting they completely change the themes or tone is not likely to be a goer.
STEP SEVEN: FORMAT Generally bullet points are a lot easier to digest than a solid paragraph with no separation. Be sensitive to access needs that may be present, such as the need for a bigger or plainer font. Copy in any refs/organisers who have requested it.
Wait the allotted area of time and send!
Other relevant points:
- You may or may not receive a reply. - You don’t HAVE to submit feedback if you don’t want to. - Sometimes there is also a closing date for feedback entries, make sure you note this!
