I’m at the point of revision where I’m unconfident any word means what I think it means. Cue looking up big, snooty words¹ like “rife” and “meander.” Spellcheck randomly putting a red squiggly under “extent” didn’t help. And spellcheck approves “troublemaker” but not “troublemaking,” so does or does not the latter need a space? A […]
Today, September 4, is Queer Your Bookshelf Day. Link goes to a list of participating ebooks on sale for 99 cents each, various genres, featuring characters who are trans, nonbinary, sapphic, gay, bi, poly, ace, aro, and more. Many are Amazon exclusives, but a good number are also available from other sellers.
Did you know Stephen King’s media empire includes an alternative radio station? It lulled me into a false sense of security with a stream of old faves and then bludgeoned me with the horrific revelation that Cake (of “Short Skirt/Long Jacket” fame) did a cover of Gloria Gaynor’s anthemic “I Will Survive.” They, as the
Since I’m unable to think in images (aphantasia), my “artistic process” in a visual medium is to come up with a concept (in words), scribble stick figures to estimate the spatial relationships in the allotted space, and then painstakingly build upon the stick figures based upon whether I do or don’t like each stroke as
In this bout of revision, I added some physical actions in the form of “exercises.” Heroine went through a lengthy convalescence followed by months of relative peace in the marsh and isn’t in her peak physical form. As soon as she admits she won’t be able to fade into the background and evade what’s coming,
Every time I mentioned Hero’s age at the time of his traumatic childhood event in previous drafts, I wrote “ten (or twelve?).” Unable to remember if I decided one or the other earlier in this revision pass, I wasted a fair amount of time searching for that answer and debating the pros and cons of
This isn’t a Never Do This Shit post because movies are great for teaching a lot of general storytelling concepts. Many of film’s lessons about pacing, rising action, characterization, doling out exposition, the content of dialogue, and more can be directly applied to stories that are meant to be read rather than produced and watched.
Since last time, I added a dark mode toggle to the site for folks who find a black background easier to read. The button floats at the lower right of the screen, and you can click back and forth to your heart’s content. Please be aware dark mode removes at least one accessibility feature (underlined
Black Love Matters: Real Talk on Romance, Being Seen, and Happily Ever Afters is currently $1.99 in ebook form. It’s a collection of essays, edited by columnist and librarian Jessica P. Pryde, exploring romance in a media landscape where Happily Ever After has long been overwhelmingly white.[efn_note]And cis and het and capped with a Christian
Today (June 30, 2023), Romance Bookworms is hosting their quarterly list of a massive number of free romance and romance-adjacent ebooks, sorted by retailer (so non-Amazon readers don’t have to sort through a bazillion Amazon-exclusive books) and by category and labeled with keywords to help with your yea/nay right at the source. Even I, Hater