OHHHHH This Is So Cool! He Looks Absolutely Amazing! Thank You So Much!

we're sleeping on how varied crocodilians are in colour and pattern

Yacare caiman

Tomistoma

Cuban crocodile

Cuvier's dwarf caiman

West African crocodile

American alligator

Saltwater crocodile

New Guinea crocodile

How to Do World-Building Research

Whether you’re building a fantasy world from complete scratch, or mentally designing the suburban house your very realistic story will take place in, at a certain point in your writing process you’ll need to plan out your story world. Here are a few world-building research methods to get you started:

Ask Questions

Ask anything and everything you can about your world. Each story will require different lines of inquiry. Listen to your story and follow the questions it seems to want you to investigate. What kind of car did your main character’s grandpa drive? How was the president elected? Why is everyone so obsessed with peanuts? The answers might appear in the story you’ve already written, in your imagination, or you may have to delve deeper into your research to find them.

Draw a Map or Create a Model

Is your story world so complicated it’s making your head spin? Get out paper or other materials and make a visual representation of it. This could mean making a floor plan of your main character’s house, or mapping out an entire town, country, or kingdom. Physically creating your world is research in itself, but it can also guide you to new lines of questioning. You might discover that your story world contains a lot of lakes, or elk, or antiques, which in turn pushes you to research craters, or migratory patterns, or the history of antiques, which then leads you back to questions about meteors, or a lineage of hunters, or a family history of con artists, etc.

Outside Research

You may need to read history books, watch documentaries, conduct interviews, research online, or conduct first-hand research to get your questions answered. If your story takes place in Kansas and you’ve never been there, you could plan a trip, watch movies or read books set in Kansas, or talk to people who have lived there. Remember to record sensory details as well as facts. How does the air feel? What colors are prominent?

Take Notes

No matter what research method you use, take lots of notes. These can be straightforward recordings of the facts, or more creative expressions of what you encounter. Maybe something you stumble across will inspire you to write a poem, make a drawing, take a photo, create a mood board, or outline a new character. Keep in mind that your best ideas might come when you’re not actively researching, so keep a notebook or device nearby to record ideas that pop up when you’re not expecting them.

Use Your Own Experiences, Opinions, Ideas, and Imagination

Research doesn’t just mean looking into what other people say, think, or feel about a time, place, or topic. It can also mean exploring your own thoughts and perceptions! Say you’re researching a story that takes place in Oklahoma during the Great Depression. You’ll want to read history books, conduct interviews, watch films and documentaries, read novels set in that time period, research online, and perhaps even travel. But while you’re doing this, also pay attention to how you think and feel about the information you’re gathering. What details stand out to you? Does something you encounter make you mad? Why? What interests you about this time and place—and what bores you to tears?

When to Stop Researching

Some writers absolutely love story building… to the point that they never want to stop researching and actually write or revise their story! If you notice you’re procrastinating by languishing in the research stage, it’s time to get back to your story. As you return to the writing, you’ll probably find that you need go back to story building, then back to the writing, then to story building again. So don’t be too nervous about putting down your research: You can always go back and revise your world if you need to.

Of course, it’s completely acceptable to be obsessed with story building. All writers have their own attachments—elements of story telling that they love above all others. Some people get obsessed with a character, a plot, a setting, a theme… So if you’re a writer who loves your worlds, don’t be afraid to own it. Lots of amazing writers— especially science fiction and fantasy writers—are known for being huge world building geeks. If that’s what excites you, indulge! Just be aware of when you might be using it as a crutch because you’re nervous about composing or revising your story, and challenge yourself to move on—knowing, of course, that you can always come back to it if you need to.

Hope this helps!

Hump-nosed lizard (Lyriocephalus scutatus)

The hump-nosed lizard is a species of lizard within the agamid family, the only species in the genus Lyriocephalus. It is the largest agamid endemic to Sri Lanka and lives in dense wet zone forests. The hump-nosed lizard inhabits forests with high canopy and dense undergrowth, but it occasionally also enters home gardens. It is active during the day, when it dwells low on trees as well as on the ground. It goes higher up on trees to sleep at night. The typical threat posture is open-mouth gape, revealing the bright red lining of the oral cavity. This species is also known to feign death when picked up. Its diet comprises essentially of earthworms and also arthropods, including termites, butterflies, and moths. It is also known to feed on young shoots and buds.

photo credits: Kalyanvarma

oh look, it's time to reblog more crocodiles.

I can’t stop thinking about crocodiles for some reason so here’s some cool pictures I found of probably the second largest one in captivity, his name is Utan:

isn’t he beautiful

listen to the SOUND when he bites

and that’s not even a real power bite, that’s mostly just heavy bone falling on heavy bone from his jaws and the air rushing out from between them

What a wonderful Johnny! All the little touches on him are so magnificent!

Older Johnny

Zack could use some help! The link to their Gumroad will be reblogged.

All of their stuff in Gumroad is GREAT! I recommend The Activity Club and The Final Hole and Everlasting!

this is adorable!

Coral Pukei-Pukei Villager

I sketched this villager a few years ago, I'd still love to see these folks in my village. Little Pukei Pukei collecting bugs to eat :D