This is the feelings wheel by Geoffrey Roberts, shown to me by my therapist. My initial thought was, "what amazing synonyms to use for diverse emotional vocabulary!"
More than that, this wheel is great for understanding your characters inner motivations and reactions to situations. For example, if a character constantly feels helpless, then their overarching characteristics will be that they are fearful.
Characters who are less emotionally aware may use words and act in the inner most circle. Those much more aware of their emotions may describe themselves or express and use words from the outer most circle.
Hopefully you guys find this as helpful as I did! Let me know down in the comments.
Femme Fatale Guide: Tips To Become More Emotionally Intelligent
Embrace self-awareness & self-reflection: Observe how you feel, behave, and how people generally respond to your words/actions in different situations
Practice self-regulation: Learn to differentiate between your feelings and the actions that would be appropriate in a specific setting or interaction. Internalize that feelings are fleeting and non-factual. You're in control of how you respond/(don't) act on these emotions
Engage in active listening: Pay attention to what others are saying with the intent of understanding, not responding
Focus on emotional differentiation: Understand where your thoughts, feelings, intentions, and opinions end and another person's identity/perception begins
Display radical empathy and acceptance: Understand that almost all people's words and actions result from their own beliefs, past experiences, and current life circumstances/priorities. Put yourself in their shoes when attempting to understand their choices, behaviors, and times they come to you to discuss a problem, success, or major life decision. Accept that you can only control what you do. Very little of other people's actions/the world's workings are personal. Things are happening around you, not to you
Let go of your ego: View yourself as objectively as possible with the potential for improvement. Abolish any superior complex or overwhelming desire to prove your self-importance in others' lives and decisions
Remain open-minded: Question your own beliefs and opinions. Stay curious as to why you believe them to be true/authentic to you. Allow your opinions to change or have the capacity to modify your beliefs upon hearing new information. Understand your worldview and values are valid, but they're not definitively correct beliefs, just because they resonate/feel comfortable for you
Be receptive to feedback: Embrace constructive criticism as a self-improvement tool. Approach it with curiosity and optimism, not as a personal attack
Differentiate between your feelings and capabilities: Your thoughts are not facts. Remember you can do things you don't feel like doing most of the time (work, waking up in the morning, working out, etc.). Learn the difference between being a slave to your emotions and genuinely running out of energy
FYI, I have also locked all my fanfics down to registered users only because of the AI scraping on AO3. I'm one of many fan creators doing this right now and I know it stinks for users without an AO3 account, but it's the only option writers have available to us at the moment to stop our work from being scraped and stolen.
If this makes you mad, the Federal Register is currently open to comments on AI accountability until June 12th, 2023.
It only takes a second to leave a comment to ask for legislation that works used in AI creations or training MUST secure the express consent of the original creator before they can be used. If we can get protections for artists, writers, musicians and everyone who creates that their work cannot be used in AI without their permission, we can go back to making fanworks freely available without fear of them being misused. Until then, we're stuck playing defense until the courts catch up.
(If you're a fan creator looking to do this as well, AO3 has a tool to let you do all your fics at the same time in seconds. On your dashboard, go to Edit Works and you'll be able to change the status on everything at once.)
If you missed the context, AO3 recently found that the archive was scraped for use in AI services like ChatGPT and Sudowrite. While they put in protections in December 2022 to try to stop it from happening in the future, it's not foolproof and there is nothing they can do about works already swiped prior to that date. The archive is recommending fan creators restrict their works to registered users only to prevent against additional large scale scraping in the future.
You can either use index cards, online cards or cut out paper, whatever is more convenient.
Organise resources and notes before beginning to write anything on your flash cards. Only use key concise information.
Keep the content on your flash cards short. Don’t use flash cards for more detailed information. You want to make sure it is easily memorable.
When writing your flash cards, use different coloured pencils to write or highlight some words to make it more memorable.
Put one term/question on each card to better retain more information.
Add pictures/diagrams. I know not all of us are artists, but they are quite useful to memorise the information, as our brains associate visuals with information.
Keep your flash cards limited. If need be, you can create two sets of decks to use in different periods, but try keeping one deck under 20-25 cards.
USING
Repetition is important when using flash cards. Try to find little intervals in your day to use them. Early morning or just before you go to bed are some of the best times to revise them!
Recite your flashcards out loud instead of in your head, you process the information with more clarity.
Keep distractions minimally. You don’t need to have complete silence, but avoid music, doing it in your bed or eating while revising.
Engage yourself with the flashcards, you can reward yourself after getting a short chunk memorised, or walk around while using them.
one of the reasons (i said “one of” not “only”) young men are susceptible to this kind of foolishness is the reality that many women play games. we as men have to intreprent hints and deal with women who say “no” but mean “chase me.” who say “no” but mean “yeah.” ughh it can be ugly. the way to proceed as guys is to always (always) take “no” to mean “no.” doesn’t matter if she’s playing a game, wants to be chased, wants to see how determined you are or whatever. don’t risk your freedom. if she says “no” then it’s final answer and just move on.
"The allure of AI entices those people who fetishize ideas but dismiss the work. They're the people who tell writers, 'I'll give you the idea, then you write it, and we'll split the profits.' For them, the vision is everything, and the work is just an annoying obstacle.
"But the WORK is everything. The work is how a thing happens, where it's made, where skill is put to work.
"AI in creativity is for the people who have no skill, no work, no effort, no ethic. They just want to push a button."
- Chuck Wendig (via Threads - longer post on his blog: X)
Emotionally healthy people are quitters. They make choices that align with their well being. Quitting a relationship, partnership or job that makes you unhappy is a sign of self awareness. If someone stays in something bad for too long, it's not because they're strong, but because they're afraid or have low self esteem. Being emotionally healthy means having awareness, setting boundaries, and knowing when it's time to move on from situations that no longer serve you. It's about prioritizing your mental and emotional health over sticking with something that's causing you harm or making you unhappy.
Emotionally healthy people also tend to have good communication skills. They express their feelings and needs calmly, openly and honestly. They also look for guidance and enlightenment because they understand that seeking help is a sign of strength not weakness.
They make decisions out of self love rather than attachment or fear. When you prioritize loving yourself, you make choices that align with your happiness and growth, rather than staying in situations out of comfort or insecurity.
Recognizing when you have an unhealthy attachment or that your feelings may not be conducive to your well being is important. It allows you to take a step back, evaluate the situation objectively, and make choices that are in line with your best interests.
Sometimes holding on can lead to more pain and struggle than necessary. It's a sign of emotional maturity to recognize when a situation is no longer good for you and to have the strength to let it go.
Things that are genuinely right for you should not cause you harm or emotional pain. Choosing pain is a sign of a lack of self love. Recognizing the need for change, prioritizing self love, and making healthier choices is how you begin to change your life.
Reframe your mindset from “this is hurting me because I love it” to “this is hurting me because I do not love me.”
Are you a content creator or a blog author who generates unique, high-quality content for a living? Have you noticed that generative AI platforms like OpenAI or CCBot use your content to train their algorithms without your consent? Don’t worry! You can block these AI crawlers from accessing your website or blog by using the robots.txt file.
Web developers must know how to add OpenAI, Google, and Common Crawl to your robots.txt to block (more like politely ask) generative AI from stealing content and profiting from it.
-> Read more: How to block AI Crawler Bots using robots.txt file
What are your views on using AI as a beginner writer? I'm particularly interested in knowing until what line this is acceptable for. Can we use tools such as Chatgpt as a proofreader? To make our sentence structures stronger? To flesh out an idea in our heads into words befitting a story?
If I do use it, is it really me who wrote it? But even without it, I would be browsing the internet for writing tips, studying other authors and their writing styles etc. AI just made my work so much more easier.
But I simply cannot shake away the guilt
Thanks for asking! There's a lot of controversy over using AI for creative ventures, as I'm sure you know; and different writers may have disagreements regarding where they draw the line. Some may opt to not use it at all. But here's my personal view of the topic.
Using AI, especially as a beginner writer, can go both ways—though it can be immensely helpful and, in many cases, entirely acceptable, too much reliance is never a good thing. AI is a powerful tool that can provide guidance, offer suggestions, and even assist in the writing process itself. The key is to understand how to use AI effectively without letting it overshadow your own voice and creativity.
Tools like ChatGPT can serve various purposes in your writing journey. They can act as proofreaders, helping to identify errors and suggesting improvements in sentence structures. They can also be used to flesh out ideas, providing inspiration and aiding in the development of coherent narratives. Personally, I find it immensely useful to use AI for tasks like rephrasing awkward sentences, finding the right words when my mind draws a blank, or organising my thoughts into a structured outline for my story.
However, it's crucial to remember that while AI can be a valuable resource, it's not a replacement for studying the craft of writing or learning from established authors. There's a distinct difference between drawing inspiration from AI-generated text and studying the nuances of human writing styles. I highly recommend immersing yourself in the works of real, non-AI authors to truly understand the artistry and depth of storytelling. Studying other writers—their writing styles, plots, and characters—can also provide great inspiration for your own writing.
As for using AI as a proofreader, it can certainly be beneficial in helping you familiarise yourself with different phrases and words. Nonetheless, it's essential to exercise discretion and selectively implement the suggestions provided by AI. You want to maintain your own writing tone and style and avoid sounding too robotic or generic.
Ultimately, using AI as a beginner writer can alleviate some of the challenges you may face while honing your craft. Embrace its assistance, but always remember that the words you produce are still yours, shaped by your creativity and vision. There's no need to feel guilty about leveraging technology to enhance your writing journey—just ensure that you maintain a balance between AI assistance and your own unique voice.