The Sanctum

OK. So this is a place for helping each other out. Here's how it's going to work.

If anyone has ever played Corrupt A Wish or Crazy Questions in the Word Play forum, it's the same kind of layout.

You sign in to "TheSanctum" (password: sanctum) and enter the forum.

You can give yourself a nickname, such as "Bob" but this is optional.

You then ask your question/state your problem.

The next person comes up with a solution to your problem, and then poses their own.

So a typical posting might look like this:

Bob: I'm scared of failing my exams. Any tips for revision?
----------------------------
Jane: Don't worry, everyone does! Try (web link) or (web link) Good luck!
I'm scared my cat is going to die

And so on...

It can be ANY problem, within reason, and if you are comfortable to share it un-anonymously then do. Please remember that the Mods know who you are!

Good luck, I hope this can help!

TheSanctum

I'm worried that I'll never be good enough to write a book and/or story that is actually print-worthy. Any advice?

(I think you're supposed to log in with the YWS account 'TheSanctum" following the direction above)

Nickname: rem

Solution:

In any case, it just takes practice. There's this thing that's called the 10,000 hour rule that basically states that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert at something. Half of writing is reading, so If you spend a good portion of your time reading, you've already taken care of a few of those hours. Needless to say, though, you still need to spend them writing. 10k hours of reading won't make your first bit of work a masterpiece.

Spend a couple thousand hours of your life writing and you'll be good. A couple more and you'll be really good. It just keeps building up until you're an 'expert' at it. Mozart took 10,000 hours of practice before he composed anything worthwhile (twinkle twinkle little star is far from a masterpiece) as did DaVinci, as did any other number of 'brilliant' people in history.

If it sounds daunting, consider this: How long have you been writing? A few months? A few years? Take some time to try to imagine how many hours you've spent writing since you first began. When you look at it that way, it's not that big a deal.

Problem:
A kid in my karate class is constantly getting into trouble by the adults. It's gotten to the point where they just assume that he's going to cause trouble, and so call him on every little thing with harsh punishments. He got 50 push-ups for talking when we were supposed to be quiet, whereas any other kid would have been told, 'no talking' first, and then maybe 10 push ups, 20 at the most. For squirming (a very kid thing to do) during the closing ceremony deal, he was told he would not be allowed to test for his next rank on Thursday (tomorrow). His dad brags about how at home, if the kid misbehaves, he's given push-ups as well, even if it's in a public place like the mall. Yesterday he got in trouble for playing with other kids before class started.

He's very angry and resentful of the fact that he's there, and his eyes are always red and puffy. He does what he's told but gets push ups for making mistakes. People expect the worse in him and don't really give him a chance, and things have gotten worse for him now that his dad has started helping teach the kids' karate class. I feel really bad for him and want to reach out, but am unsure if it's my place to do so, or how to even do it. He's only a kid, and a lot of damage has been done to him, psychologically. I know I can't repair that in one talk or greeting, but I'd at least like to help, to say something that might cheer him up. If everyone was insulting or punishing me or getting me into trouble, I'd at least like there to be one person who wasn't, who might actually have something nice to say.

Really, he's a great kid, but everyone is so unfair to him... like I said, they don't give him a chance. And while talking with/being there for him would be a help, what can I do to fix the problem in the long term, keeping in mind that respect is a very big thing in Karate?

Whoa!...My bad- sorry about that.

Compared to your problem, mine sounds like I just asked you how not to break my diet this upcoming Sunday. You've really got a dilemma.

I'm not sure if this is the right advice, or if it will help the poor kid at all, but I'd rather try than not:

From what you've told me, this kid is getting pounded on pretty hard- and from those experiences, is mistrustful and mean to all those around him because that is the only way he has ever been treated. The dad doesn't help much either- what's that guy's problem anyway? I think it's horrible the way he's jumped on by his teachers- I mean, what's their problem?!!

Anyway, here's my advice:

Besides being what you said, talking with/being there for him, it's kind of hard to do more without crushing what little respect he might have left in that Karate school. If possible, maybe you could take him somewhere for the afternoon. To a movie, a park, a hike in the woods- whatever.
But my point is, just show him what having a friend is like, and maybe that might give him a little more confidence and self-assurance... Maybe. Ugh! I'm doing awful, aren't I? Scratch all I just wrote, here's my real advice: Take the kid's father, and all the teachers in the crummy Karate school and lock them in the nearest storage shed- abduct the kid, and drive off into the sunset. There. Problem solved. (Joke- really, don't do that)

Problem:

I've got ten pounds to lose before Thanksgiving- what do I do?

Nickname: rem

Solution:

Haha! Thanks for the tips, I'll see what I can do. Also, why bother? Thanksgiving involves a lot of food, not counting the leftovers you'll have for days afterward. You'd probably gain back at least half of the pounds you lost prior to thanks giving. But if there's some reason that you really do need to lose the weight for, just do some exercises in the morning when you wake up and at night before you sleep. ten minutes is fine, you don't really need to take longer. Just a quick little warm up for the day/cool down for the night. Believe, me, you'll start to see results fast. Muscle tone first, and then you start shedding weight... consistent exercise in short breaths is amazing for that stuff.

Ideas:

Sit-ups
Push-ups
Wall push-ups (a push-up with your feet on the ground and hands on the wall -- very easy, especially if you don't know how to do a push-up push-up )
Squats
Lunges (really good, these things)

Also, stretches can help build muscle tone as well, so if you can't do some light exercise for whatever reason, stretches are good.

Problem:

My certificate is in Japanese, which I can't read yet. I don't know if it's praising my skill in passing the test like it should be, or if it's insulting the ignorance of all those who can't read. XD

You know what? You're absolutely right. Besides, if I don't go on a diet now, I'll have something extra to put on my New Year's Resolution list and ignore.

Solution to problem:

It's definitely praising. Buy a Japanese/English dictionary and translate it yourself one afternoon when you have absolutely nothing to do- plus all that translating might just help with your Japanese!

Problem:

My problem is that I don't have a problem.