u/Late_Music1835

I’ve been a core MLS and blood banker for three years, but I recently got a job in my hospital’s microbiology department. I really wanted this job to challenge myself and to round out my resume because I have so little experience with micro outside of gram stains mostly.

I was looking through my old BOC study material but idk how much of this is going to help me prepare for my next role because how we are forced to learn micro academically isn’t (to my knowledge) how micro is practiced professionally.

Does anyone have any advice for things I should focus on when preparing? Or just general advice or important things you’d like to pass on? I’m excited but nervous I’m going to show up u prepared on my first day

I never really read romantasy as a genre but it took off on Tiktok and came up on my feeds. Some of these booktookers' analysis are so sophisticated and detailed- they have thick pages of notes and they go down to the origin of certain words in the English language. It reminded me of literature classes all over again and made me realize I hadn't read deeply since college. It inspired me to read beyond my typical genres of mystery/sci fi/thrillers/non-fiction.

I ended up reading all the Fourth Wing and ACOTAR books in a few short months, DM-ing some of these creators and asking for tips on how to read deeply on your own as an adult, and came to the conclusion that I wanted to start writing a story to really understand how some of these literary devices can be used so I could spot them better in books. I even started reading literary fiction. Fast forward another four months, now I'm finishing my second book...all because of some ACOTAR memes.

I'm still not a strong writer but I find it amusing that one of the biggest tips here is to read more to improve on my writing, and here I am trying to improve on my writing so I can be a better reader!

I’m sorry if this is random. I’m a writer (and a reptile owner, though not a tortoise) and I’m interested in writing about rescued sulcata tortoises so I have a few questions if you wouldn’t mind helping me out!

1. what adjustments did you have to make in your life to give your tortoise the care it needed?

2. how do you go about finding care for your sulcata after you pass on, especially if you are single/childless

3. have other people treated you differently now that you have a massive reptile in/around your house (assuming it’s an adult)

4. what do you like/dislike about your tortoise

5. what was the most unexpected hurdle you came across when you started keeping your tortoise

6. for the rescue owners: is there any care you needed to provide for your tortoise to recover from their neglectful/ignorant previous owner

Thank you for all your help. I’d also love to see pics of your tort too :)

Summary:

Smudge and his half-sister Scoot eke out a meager living in a long dried-out world, whose oceans receded from the historical shoreline centuries ago. The two live hand-to-mouth hauling seawater from their village of rusting shipwrecks on the exposed seabed up to the technologically advanced ecodome.

Alienated from his village due to his dome parentage, Smudge lingers among the outcast junk collectors, where he meets his best friend Crash. When Crash unintentionally injures Smudge, he is rushed off to the dome for medical intervention. There, he confronts what it means to be descended from the dome, the ones unfeelingly pulling the purse strings of water in the desert.

Meanwhile, Crash spirals beneath the weight of his guilt, and, assuming Smudge dead, plans an attack on the village’s water resources to spare his own life and stave off thirst for one more day.

Scoot’s only solution to remove the junkers from the village is to propose a joint takeover of the dome, both parties eager to overthrow their generational oppressors and gain access to their industrial water desalination plant, never to thirst again.

In a world where the person standing between you and your next mouthful of water is the difference between life and death, Smudge, Scoot, and Crash untangle their prejudices to survive on a scarred and neglected planet.

Warning:

Some implied sexual content

This story is in the second draft stage and I’m needing advice on exposition (especially in the first chapter), character development, and character continuity. Any other advice is welcome. I am already aware of several continuity issues and have not yet fixed them because that’s a chore for the third draft and I just haven’t gotten there yet.

I **can't** read full length names like Abanathiel, Corvenna, or Elizabeth the Second - the stabber of big knives.

Like people irl use nicknames. Have your characters use nicknames! Imo it makes the dialogue and characters feel more organic and it also gives me fewer letters to read. Every culture and language should be like mine and cater to me 🥰

Hey guys, I’m a brand new writer (I started creative writing five minutes ago yay). I haven’t really planned or thought about my story at all and have so far put zero effort into it. I reallllyyyyy need some feedback so I know what to do. I need you to take time and effort (preferably more effort than I’ve put into this chapter) to tell me what to do. Oh god please tell me what to do. But don’t tell me to fix my spelling/grammar/punctuation errors because this is just a first draft and I know they’re there. And also don’t tell me to read a book because I don’t read and I know that won’t solve any of my problems or teach me how to spot or solve them myself. I need YOU to do this because I refuse to learn because I don’t read. But please tell me exactly what my problems are and how to solve them.

But I’m going to get really offended each time you point out an issue because that’s something I did intentionally actually and you just don’t understand my art.