Cashmere Ink

Writing is difficult. Writing in a way that makes your readers feel truly connected to the story and evokes emotion is on another level. In the case of writing horror stories, beginners often want to jump straight to gore and strong, descriptive visuals to try and evoke feelings like disgust and discomfort. However, scary stories like that often fall flat and end up being unimpressive. As a horror writer you definitely want to make your readers feel: Disgust Fear Discomfort Paranoia Shock Uncertainty Etc. If it is a bad feeling, you want to nurture it. Not to say that you shouldn't have some hope or good things in your story if you can help it. The best horror stories are well-rounded, but the overall theme and most major events should center around the darkness and terror of your tale. Horror is a fine art that requires tact from the writer. Your readers should not realize that they are becoming scared all at once. Instead, it should be a slow, creeping sense that things are going...

Most Things Are Better Without a Peanut Gallery If you've been on the internet for more than ten minutes, then you know where to go if you want to find the most toxic energy on any page or post. That's right, the comments. I know what it's like to spend more time in the comments section than on an actual video or post. They can be quite amusing, but they can also be quite hateful. This post is not about feelings though. I'm not here to make a statement about hate speech. I've simply noticed that comments aren't necessary and I think that engagement would be much better overall if they didn't exist. I'm sure they are used by algorithms to determine engagement, but there is a better and much simpler way to do so. What Would We Do Without Comments? Uh, enjoy our lives? Spend less time absorbing toxic ignorance? Actually share content? For some things on the internet, comments seem necessary. No one posts those "first day of the new school year" pi...

Can AI Actually Make Blogging Obsolete? Look around the internet now and it is obvious that artificial technology is taking over many aspects. AI-generated images , AI-generated blog posts , AI-generated videos , and probably even AI bot accounts that comment on content. So what do you do now if you are a blogger, content creator, artist or...a professional commenter? Well most people believe that you will be replaced. Sorry, you had a good run, but technology is here now. Bow to the new superior lifeform. It may be the optimist in me, but I don't believe this is true. I think that with the right attitude we can see an awesome shift when it comes to blogs and writing on the internet. I have bad news for the professional commenters, though: Fuck you. That's useless. There is nothing you can do. Your Art Form Is Probably Safe From Artificial Intelligence This is a tangent. This post will focus mainly on the blogging/writing shift I expect to see as AI advances, but I am sure th...

Stumbling Across Winter Burrow I was scrolling through YouTube the other day, looking for a cozy game playthrough to put on and I found the perfect video. Gab Smolders was playing Winter Burrow the day before release. I enjoy her videos and I was in the mood for something a little less serious, so I hit play. The game caught my attention so much that I decided to buy it and give it a try for myself. I found it to be a bit less cozy and more survival than I was prepared for, but I was not disappointed at the price point of $18 on the Switch Lite. In Winter Burrow, you play as a mouse returning from the big city to reclaim your family's old home, The Burrow . Guided by your Aunt Betulina , you learn to forage, craft, and survive. Along the way, you'll assist other forest folk that you meet along the way. The main characters that provide you with quests are: Bufo (Frog) Pollywog (Bufo's "Taddler" Tadpole) Gnawtusk (Squirrel) Willow (Mole) Moss (Fox) What I Liked Ab...

Mini Book Model Validates Writers to Publish Short Non-Fiction Books I picked up this ebook on a whim after about an hour of searching for something to read that had to do with ebook writing and publishing. Overall, I was not disappointed and Mini Book Model left me with some great ideas. It is the first book in Chris Stanley 's 7-book Mini Book Publishing series. Chris claims to run his own seven-figure mini book publishing business while sailing around the world with his family on their sailboat. Legitimate, or some fuckass lie? I do not know. What I do know is that he has written a large number of what he dubs "mini books", and that Mini Book Model is itself one of these books. So he practices what he preaches at least. I read in less than a couple hours and plan to re-read it because I want to test it out. I will be publishing my own mini book within the next month and run an update post with the results. What Is Mini Book Model About? Let's start with the basic...

The short answer: "Absolutely not." I have Googled this question so many times in the past. I can't imagine how many "Is Blogger still useful in 20xx?" or "Is Blogger dead in 20xx?" queries have been searched in the past decade. Probably because it lacks the consistent updates and polished modernity of other blogging platforms. It is true that Blogger's interface hasn't changed much in the last 10-15 years, but there have been consistent updates, especially recently. For a long time it seemed like it would become another dead Google project , but it endured and is still a relevant option if you are considering starting or migrating a blog . I have been on and off Blogger for years between all of my different projects and honestly I wish I'd just stuck with it. It offers the simplest option for people that just want to write without all the distractions of plug-ins and other flashy tools. The simplicity is why I always come back to the plat...