u/Sorry-Rain-1311

Closing thoughts of the day:

I'm in southern Colorado where we're currently dealing with an epic wildfire season, and one of those major fires is steadily creeping towards my backdoor. Nearby towns have just been put on pre-evacuation notice. While we're still safe for the moment, it's pretty well understood around my town that we should all be ready to evacuate at any second. This is the quietest 4th of July I've ever seen, which, actually, my combat PTSD really appreciates.

Physically we're pretty well prepared with a few days of food and water, back up power for phones, 1st aid kit, walkie talkies, camping gear, even working on a plan for if we have to live out of the car for a while, etc. We routinely go camping in the summer, so my kids all understand how to deal without our modern amenities like running water, electricity, or the like.

What I'm more worried about is how to handle custody/co-parenting issues with a non-cooperative ex should they arise. She's not much more predictable than the fire, and almost as destructive at times. I messaged mom about it, but got no response, and when I texted my middle daughter (who stays with mom fulltime these days) she said that it hasn't come up at all, so no plans made.

Making sure all my kids are safe is of course number one priority regardless of court orders, but I'd like to hear about your experiences with managing emergency situations- of any sort- so I can be more mentally prepared.

Thanks!

If you've not been too distracted by your own part of the world burning down, you might have heard about some of the major wildfires going on across the US. Well, one of them is knocking at my back door.

We're safe as of right now, but nearby towns are under pre-evacuation notice, and we haven't seen the sun in days. We're decently prepared with a 3+ day supply of food and water that includes pets, camping gear, backup power for devices, etc. What we lack is a place to go that's welcoming, and not a FEMA camp. So, to be prepared for living in the field or out of our car for a while, I'd like to maximize cargo/storage space.

We have 2010 Nissan Pathfinder, 4WD, has a roof rack and tow hitch, but nothing we can actually mount to it to carry anything. I'm interested in hearing your ideas for improvised cargo expansions.

Finally found some time to look for that 1st episode. I was right.

They F🤬G Ticktock-ified it!

It was all intentional, no skill issues involved. The editing is damned good for the job they were ordered to do, they just weren't given the right orders. The direction and shooting are the same as they've always been, which isn't a great starting point for what the producer asked of the editor.

Every angle has the action dead center, the cuts are short, and the audio is pure sound bites only. It looks and sounds good on a phone screen for 2 minutes or less at a time.

A lazy internet junky can easily select and cut discreet clips for sharing online. Productions producing this sort of content isn't unusual in the slightest, but usually they film and edit the episode for TV like normal, then take raw footage and separately creat the online specific stuff.

This is where those budget cuts come in. In stead of paying for two rounds of editing, they just made the editor do the-entire-damned-thing as if it were a collection of clips and gifs because that is exactly what they hope viewers will do with it.

At first when I heard people talking I thought maybe they're aiming for people watching on YouTube on mobile which ideally would require very different editing and framing to look good. I was only half right. They doubled down and went all in on cramming BattleBots into the collective consciousness by making it a meme generator. If it goes according to the producers plan we'll see Reddit flooded with BB branded reaction gifs before too long.

I am very skeptical about this strategy because it alienates actual invested viewers like us- it's entirely unwatchable in this format. They could have compromised just a little, and it'd work for both without costing anything.

I've been playing with this idea for a little while, and wanted to gauge interest. There's a rule against sharing your work. I feel that's necessary because it prevents people spamming their stories or articles or whatnot, which, if left unchecked, can quickly drown out active conversation. However, it's necessary to encourage practice and critique for use to hone our skills.

My idea for a compromise was to create a post each week that would be a writing prompt, and users can comment with their response. This allows sharing some of your work, but keeps it contained so it doesn't drown the rest of the subreddit.

It'd have a word count limit to prevent anyone from bogarting the post, and topics would, ideally, be proposed in a manor that would allow the various different forms of writing to be applied. So one person could post a short history or current events article related to the topic, while another could write a poem about how they feel, and someone else might address it through a character in a piece of flash fiction. Other users could critique, or debate the quality of an argument, or whatever.

I have my own thoughts, but would like to hear from others. Is this something you'd be interested in? Topic suggestions? Formatting concerns? What do you think?

I recently started a writing related sub, and have been toying with the idea of posting a weekly writing prompt that users can comment on with their own original work. We have a rule against sharing work because then you just wind up with people posting their stories, and it can quickly overwhelm conversation posts, but I thought this would a nice compromise to facilitate conversation.

I'd like to put a word count limit on comments in just these posts to reduce the chances of someone bogarting the post with half a novel. What would that take?

I think we all do it from time to time, though some of us have an easier time of it than others.

Mine are on my right shoulder; largely faded now days because it's been 30 years, but still visible. If someone points them out or asks, and I'm not comfortable with them enough to just tell the truth, I have a story about stacking names of hay in my dad's horse barn. One fell on me and knocked me into a roll of barbed wire hanging on the wall. It's only a half lie because something like that did happen a few times, only my dad's fences aren't barbed wire, so no wire on the wall.

What's your made up excuse?

4 kids, 50/50 custody for 5 years now, week on/week off; 3 girls, boy is the youngest, 7 through 17. My youngest daughter is 10yo, and getting close to the age her sisters entered puberty.

LOTS of emotions.😳 And they're HUGE. Oldest is autistic, though, and middle daughter went through this while we were going through the divorce so I wasn't always paying as close attention as I should, but she's always been on the quiet side anyways. So third girl, but I'm still a noob apparently.

I just can't tell how much is normal or not. Mom is diagnosed bipolar, so there's a family history of way over the top out of control emotions, which makes me worry.

Like I just picked her up from a 2 night sleepover with family friends whose kids are all relatively the same ages as mine, and she immediately started complaining about herz friend, and by the time we got home (less than a mile drive) she was almost in melt down mode. There's something almost every day that has her over the edge, and she flips like a switch. Try to calm her down at all (take some deep breath, take a break, etc.), she feels attacked, and cries and yells more. Keeps hitting her little brother, but she's so over the top I can't tell if she's making stuff up when she does it or not. So I have to just stop the immediate situation, or send both of them to their rooms.

I have her in therapy once every week she's with me (mom isn't interested in helping) but she never wants to talk to her therapist about anything at all- doesn't even want to go in the office without me- so I guess I'm hoping you guys can tell me your stories about preteen girl hormones so I can get an idea whether or not I should push some sort of diagnosis with her therapist. I can deal with allot, but I really worry if I'm dealing with it right.

I'm struggling with the technical bits right now.

The crosspost option pops up when I first make a post, but if I use it once it seems to go away. I now just thought of another community I might be able to crosspost to, but can't figure out how to do it again after the first one. There's the Share option, but I don't think it works the same way. What am I missing?

I've talked about this at times in other communities, but usually just my thoughts on it. I'd like to hear what others think. I've realized that this may be a source of misunderstanding that could potentially be cleared up, and allow all of us to learn and improve our writing more effectively.

Those familiar with education, and training models will know the four basic stages: Familiarization; Demonstration; Practice; Critique.

Familiarization: You observe what can be done, and the tools used to do the thing.

Demonstration: You observe the process of actually doing the thing.

Practice: You actually do the thing yourself.

Critique: You bring what you just did, and identify what you did right, or what you did wrong so you can improve it the next time.

Repeat as many times, in whatever order is necessary to get it figured out, whatever it is.

So what activities related to writing do you think fall under what stages? What do you think it all looks like in learning better writing skills?

One of the great things about being an early member in barely existent new sub is you get defacto control to an extent over what it becomes, so I'll put this out there for everyone to discuss.

Yesterday we got our first post from a real user before I was even done getting things set up around here, and they were talking about something that I described in my comment as a sort of vicarious journaling through characters and plots. Later in the day my 10yo daughter comes to me with a video on bullet journaling saying she wants one. This got me thinking about journaling as a writing form.

Given the generalist nature of the sub, should I invite more discussion about journaling as part of the writing craft by adding a lost flair for it? I'd love to hear other opinions before moving ahead.

Thanks!

I have no clue how any of the technicals work.

I've created some fun user flair that anyone can use in hopes of encouraging a laid-back environment. Lead by example, so I just made one for myself as mod, but I can't find anywhere where I can assign it to myself.

I also can't figure out how to pin my welcome post, if no one minds me doubling up on this post.

Hello, all! 👋

Welcome to r/WritingGeneralists! There are subs everywhere for specific forms and methods of writing- and most of them are great places to learn about THAT ONE FORM- but anyone who knows anything knows that we can all learn allot from each other, so this is a community where we can bring everyone closer together.

Using myself as an example, (I generally hate doing that, but it's the best I can think of at the moment) mostly a hobby writer of prose fiction. I struggled with dialogue for the longest time until I took a scriptwriting class in college. It was mostly focused on things like newscasts, but it helped me balance character dialogue, and voice. Those journalism courses helped me learn to prioritize information. Writing term papers helped me explain complex concepts. Finally my love of writing fiction helped me write all this papers in a way that was enjoyable to read. No form of writing is unrelated to the others.

I am Mod. I am also clueless because I've never moderated an online community before. I have no idea how the technical bits work yet, so please be patient.

I have a bachelor's of sciences in mass communications, with minors work in history and psychology. I'm a disabled veteran of the US Army and Coast Guard. I most recently worked a total of 5 years in secondary education, but now days I'm mostly taking care of my sick father, and being a single dad of four incredible if out of control kids. That's how I have time to even think about running a sub.

There is flair for posts: please use it. I am not requiring it at this time, but it makes it easier to organize things, and help people of varying writing backgrounds feel appreciated here. I think I got everything pretty well covered without going overboard, but let me know if I missed anything.

There is also user flair if you so choose. I'm trying to keep them fun, and lighthearted to encourage an environment where we can take our craft more seriously than ourselves. If you have a suggestion for a user flair that we can all share, let me know, and I'll consider it.

Otherwise, read the rules (first draft; I may simplify and clarify as I go) be a good sport, and remember that if it's stupid, but works, then it isn't stupid.

Take a moment to introduce yourself if you like.

I posted for the first time yesterday about my super-XL puppy's first real injury (was afraid it was his hip, but he's moving fine now with a light occasional limp on uneven ground- must've just pulled something) and I realize that I have few expertise in veterinary first aid. I'm a veteran, and have done search and rescue, so I'm pretty experienced on humans for the vast majority of situations, but aside from cuts and scrapes I've not had to deal with allot from the dogs I've had over the years. I feel like I should correct this.

Can anyone suggest some resources? Intend to focus on wilderness 1st aid, and we're a fairly outdoorsy family, so seems practical to keep the same focus for animals, but anything would be appreciated.

Thanks!

8 month old Anatolian Shepherd; 90+lbs already; generally good health, and well exercised.

As best I can tell (he was out of view when it happened) he took a tumble and hurt his right rear leg. Nothing noticeable in any other joints, but if I touch near his hip he winces. Won't put weight on it at all, but no apparent deformation or swelling. Lots of dogs over the years, but I've never had an injury like this before.

The closest vet ER is almost a two hour drive away through a twisting mountain road then heavy city traffic, and none of the locals are available on weekends (rural area where they treat as many livestock as pets). Between search and rescue, the Army, and the Coast Guard, I'm pretty damned good at human first aid/stabilization, but this is the first time I've had to worry about a serious internal injury with a dog, and I have no dog specific devices or anything.

How can I make a rough diagnosis of severity, and stabilize his hip until I can get him safely to a professional which is either a day trip by car, or wait until Monday?

Tried asking in a legal themed sub, then realized this might be more appropriate elsewhere. I'm mostly trying to confirm that my ex-wife is full of crap before I decide on next moves.

State of Colorado; 50/50 custody of 4 kids since the divorce was finalized; oldest started running away from her mother's house about a year ago, so has been staying with me full time since 03-25; second oldest told my after Thanksgiving she wanted to stay with mom, so has been there since 11-25 (court orders allow us to make changes as long as it's mutually agreeable, and I have records of us doing so); I have filed for SNAP benefits for the kids many many times, always denied because their already getting benefits at their mother's; she's refused to share them in any way the entire time. Most recently I tried to add three kids, but left off the second oldest. I keep hoping I can catch her off guard renewing late or something so I can get the benefits, and force her into a position to negotiate, but not going to lie and cheat about it. Anyway, denied again, and again because Mom is getting benefits for all of them already.

Things I'd like verified:

I have asked my caseworker in the past, and have been told there's no way they can force a split.

This go'round I messaged my ex to ask her to report the oldest as no longer part of her household. She tells me there's nothing she can do because her caseworker says it has to go according to what the court custody orders say; The orders say nothing about primary household or anything related. I respond reminding her of that, and that she can still simply report one or two kids as not part of her household for SNAP so I can claim them, or that we could write up and file an update to the custody arrangement. He response was they won't allow her to change anything because of the court orders, and I can take her to court if I want.

I would like to verify or clarify all of the last 2 paragraphs, and maybe thoughts on if there's a case for welfare fraud. I'm making less than $1700 a month between my VA compensation and my dad's VA for helping take care of him, so food stamps for just one kid out of four would make an enormous difference in my situation.

Thank you.

I'm mostly trying to confirm that my ex-wife is full of crap before I decide on next moves.

State of Colorado; 50/50 custody of 4 kids since the divorce was finalized; oldest started running away from her mother's house about a year ago, so has been staying with me full time since 03-25; second oldest told my after Thanksgiving she wanted to stay with mom, so has been there since 11-25 (court orders allow us to make changes as long as it's mutually agreeable, and I have records of us doing so); I have filed for SNAP benefits for the kids many many times, always denied because their already getting benefits at their mother's; she's refused to share them in any way the entire time. Most recently I tried to add three kids, but left off the second oldest. I keep hoping I can catch her off guard renewing late or something so I can get the benefits, and force her into a position to negotiate, but not going to lie and cheat about it. Anyway, denied again, and again because Mom is getting benefits for all of them already.

Things I'd like verified:

I have asked my caseworker in the past, and have been told there's no way they can force a split.

This go'round I messaged my ex to ask her to report the oldest as no longer part of her household. She tells me there's nothing she can do because her caseworker says it has to go according to what the court custody orders say; The orders say nothing about primary household or anything related. I respond reminding her of that, and that she can still simply report one or two kids as not part of her household for SNAP so I can claim them, or that we could write up and file an update to the custody arrangement. He response was they won't allow her to change anything because of the court orders, and I can take her to court if I want.

I would like to verify or clarify all of the last 2 paragraphs, and maybe thoughts on if there's a case for welfare fraud. I'm making less than $1700 a month between my VA compensation and my dad's VA for helping take care of him, so food stamps for just one kid would make an enormous difference in my situation.

Thank you.

The kids and I are looking to get out allot more this year than we have before, and they're all excited for backpacking camping trips. The problem is that we've experienced a very dry winter, so there are already fire restrictions across half the state, meaning campfire cooking like we usually do may not be an option.

There are FOUR of them, ages 7 through 17. That's allot of food, and freezedried meals are too expensive to just boil water for everyone. Normally I would just pack my big aluminum pot, and cook on a fire. I've been looking at getting myself one of the fold up wood stoves, but that's not enough for 5 mouths 3 meals a day.

If anyone has some recommendations to problem solve this, I'm all ears.

Thanks!

There was bear in the yard.

Gotta love country life!

The sub doesn't do pics, or I'd post the one she sent me. Cute young brown bear rummaging in the trash. Adolescent on his own for the first time.

Beats the hell out of the time we were trapped in the house all day for the two cubs stuck in a tree. That sucked, nevermind how adorable they were.