Snowflake Challenge #7: Fandom Creative Resources
It looks like Day #7 of the Snowflake Challenge touches on one of my favorite topics to talk about! I've always been a researcher at heart, which is how I've found resources that have helped me grow as a creator.
As a multi-fandomer and someone who makes art AND writes, here are some of my fav resources:
FANDOM (Specific and General)
- The Big Bang Project- a place to get updates on multi-fandom events going on. It's not just for Big Bangs, but any fest such as prompt challenges, exchanges and more. If you're a a mod, this is a place to tag to spread the word about your event/fest!
- HP: potterfests - a place to get the lowdown of every HP fest out there. This is where you get to see what just got announced, what event is accepting prompts or claims, what event is currently posting and what's going to be posting soon. Super up-to-date and comprehensive.
- HP: Harry Potter Fanfic Writers' Guild Discord Server- This is a great HP Discord that really helps writers grow. There are monthly workshops, channels to get general concrit, ask about languages, professions and/or various topics, find alphas and betas, squee about accomplishments and connect with other writers. It's because of this community that I decided to continue writing again!
- TW: Teen Wolf Fandom Events- a place to keep updated on all Teen Wolf events; maintained by the Teen Wolf Legacy Discord server. I'd actually recommend popping into both communities since the former is good to keep tabs on new events and the Discord is where you can get more regular updates on not only events, but other things too like creator help, ship talk, etc.
- GO: Good Omens Events- For all your Good Omens fests, whether it be Big Bangs, exchanges, prompt challenges and whatever else! Super helpful to stay in the know of what's up because there's such a diversity of events that I didn't know about.
- Merlin: The Merlin Library Discord server is a neurodivergent-friendly community that is great to finds fic/art recs, get creative accountability, find out about events/fests, vent/squee about things and so much more! If you'd like to opt-in for creative accountability check-ins, there's a channel for that so you can make new goals to hit every week. Also, folks can take part in Drabbles for Dopamine, which creates incentive for things that we might otherwise lack the motivation. Aka if you need to do a Thing but don't want to, folks can bribe each other with drabbles and/or art. Whoever needs motivation gives any desired prompt and if/when they do the thing, they get a drabble for the prompt.
- DnD: 5etools is my go-to for all things DnD, and if I need to look up something quick. I like to use this when I'm making a new character, or if I need a reminder on what a certain action does. Super helpful if you're playing in a Roll20 campaign and online with other members.
CREATIVE (writing and art):
- Wordhippo: This is my go-to thesaurus when I need to find synonyms for words so I don't overuse a word too many times.
- Onelook Thesaurus: Such a lifesaver! Use this resource to type in a word, phrase, description, or pattern and find synonyms, related words, and more.
- Hemingway App: A good checker to drop in paragraphs in and see if it's legible enough for legibility. This tool will let you know if your writing is easy or hard to read, and have a reading grade level score (I try to aim for 6th grade level or lower if I can).
- Writing With Color: A great resource centered on racial, ethnic and religious diversity. This is the place to find Q&A-style writing advice, guides, book recommendations and more if you're writing from a PoC's point of view and would like to be sensitive and mindful of the experiences being portrayed.
- NaNoWriMo Offers: This is a place to check back occasionally to see if there are discounts on various writing tools. July and November are peak times where NaNoWriMo events are happening and where there are a lot of discounts to tap into when you reach your writing goal (aka that's a great time to save on tools like Scrivener or ProWritingAid).
- Zaharya's Scrivener 3 Tutorials: My good friend V has done God's work in making an entire Scrivener 3 tutorial series that is ND-friendly, but in general super easy to follow and understand for noobs. She was also the person who convinced me to get Scrivener and taught me how to use it. I have not looked back since. If Word or Google Docs is not doing it for you, definitely consider Scrivener as an alternative!
- Coolors- for all your color palette needs; use this to generate a palette. See what's trending, make your own color palette, discover free fonts, convert images into different formats, explore gradients and so much more!
- The Shrimp Method- A really good process to try if you're new to drawing or want to draw a specific thing but don't know where to start. This is for noobs or veterans...anyone can draw or learn something new if they put enough time and practice into it.
- The Creator's Guide to Comics Devices- I just found this resource recently, but this is an awesome breakdown for everything comic-related, especially if you're planning to make a comic or you're already updating one. There are so many formats and ways to portray a comic, and this library allows comic artists to submit some of their expertise to be showcased and shared amongst others.